NASSAU COUNTY, Fla — An 11-year-old boy was arrested for threatening a school shooting at Callahan Middle School, according to the Nassau County Sheriff's Office.
Deputies were dispatched on August 5, after a parent said her child was receiving threatening messages from a group chat on Snapchat, according to an arrest report released Monday.
The suspect is accused of saying "you can't hide from me," and sending the child a picture of himself holding two handguns police believe were a revolver and 9mm pistol, the report states.
On August 11, deputies received a call regarding a possible school shooting threat at Callahan Middle School. The caller said they saw a Facebook message thread which referenced a school shooting. Investigators found a post that stated, "If you go to Callahan Middle, do not go to school Monday."
The suspect was in a video chat on social media with "around 20" other juveniles, where the suspect talked about "his girlfriend leaving him and began to flash two pistols at the camera," according to witnesses.
Deputies went to the suspect's home and spoke with his father, who told deputies there were no weapons in the home and agreed to let deputies search the home. No weapon was found after a search was conducted.
The report says several witness statements and pictures that were posted on social media are being used as evidence in the ongoing investigation.
Sheriff Bill Leeper said this arrest is a warning to other kids who think about making threats to others in school.
"You make a threat whether you are serious or not, we will slap handcuffs on you and lock you up, " Leeper said. "We want our schools to be a place where students can learn, and teachers can teach in a safe environment. Anyone who threatens that environment will be removed and dealt with accordingly."
The suspect was ultimately arrested for making a written threat to kill and was taken to the Nassau County Jail.