FLAGLER COUNTY, Fla. — An 11-year-old Virginia boy was arrested following a 10-week investigation into a series of threats made to five Flagler County schools last school year.
Officials reported over 20 threats made to Buddy Taylor Middle School and four other Flagler County schools between May 14 and May 22.
Officials said the boy, an 11-year-old from Henrico, Virginia, made swatting type phone calls where he made bomb threats, threatened to commit a mass shooting or stated that he had just shot a teacher, a student or multiple people.
When detectives uncovered who was making the calls, a search warrant was carried out at the boy's residence through the help of Henrico authorities. In an interview with detectives, the 11-year-old reportedly admitted to using the internet to learn how to hide his identity. Officials also said the boy admitted to creating a script for the calls he made and said he acted alone.
Detectives conducted a voice pattern analysis and compared the audio from the phone calls to the interview they conducted with the boy and determined the voices matched.
When the Flagler County Sheriff's Office's forensics unit inspected the boy's electronics, they discovered he physically removed the hard drive from his laptop, which detectives believe he did so to destroy evidence.
The sheriff's office worked with Virginia authorities to take the boy into custody on July 18. He was charged with the following crimes:
- 14 felony counts of False Report Concerning the Planting of a Bomb
- 14 felony counts of Unlawful Use of a Two-Way Communication Device
- One felony count of Tampering with Physical Evidence
- 14 misdemeanor counts of Disrupting a School Function
“With school coming up in less than a month, I know that the status of this investigation was on the forefront of our community’s mind, which is why our detectives never stopped working to find the person responsible for terrorizing our students, parents, teachers, and our community,” Sheriff Rick Staly said. “This kid’s behavior was escalating and becoming more dangerous. I’m glad we got him before he escalated out of control and hurt someone."
The other schools the child is accused of calling threats into were First Baptist Christian Academy, Flagler Palm Coast High School, Old Kings Elementary School and Suncoast Community School.