A boy has been arrested after a teenager with a cache of guns posted a video threatening to shoot up a school in Florida.
Timothy A. Thomas, 17, a student at Elevation High School, Sanford, was arrested Sunday and charged with intimidation by written or electronic threat of a mass shooting or act of terrorism, police said.
Sanford Police Department was tipped off about the video, featuring a male threatening to shoot up Seminole High School in Florida, on Saturday. In the clip, the youth was seen brandishing a cache of guns, vests, and other “items of concern”.
In a statement on Sunday, the police department said it had identified the person making the threats as Thomas. He was found at his home and taken to custody without incident, Sanford Police Department added.
Police seized multiple weapons from inside Thomas’ home after his arrest, which they classified as “extremely realistic Airsoft replicas”. It was not confirmed whether the items pictured were the same featured in the intimidation video.
Sandford PD chief Cecil Smith spoke on the incident praising the “swift identification and arrest” of the 17-year-old suspect.
“This fast action and teamwork most likely prevented a tragedy and saved multiple lives. We are thankful for the assistance of the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office Gang and Habitual Offender Suppression Team (GHOST) and Crime Analyst Unit, Homeland Security Investigations, Lee County Sheriff’s Office, Federal Bureau of Investigation and Seminole County Public Schools”, he wrote.
Superintendent of Seminole County Public Schools (SCPS) Serita Beamon thanked “the collaborative work and relentless dedication of all the agencies involved”.
“The safety of our students and staff is our highest priority, and we will continue to take any potential threat seriously, and act quickly,” they added.
Anyone with information relating to the incident is asked to contact the Sanford Police Department, Crimeline at 800 423-TIPS (8477), or visit www.crimeline.org. Calls made to Crimeline remain anonymous. The Independent contacted Elevation High School for comment.
The alleged school shooting threat came just weeks after a teenage girl was accused of plotting a massacre at her Indiana high school, which she branded “Parkland part two”.
Trinity Shockley was arrested at Mooresville High School in Mooresville, Indiana, after allegedly planning an attack on Valentine's Day, an act that would have fallen on the seventh anniversary of the Parkland school shooting – which resulted in 17 students and staff being gunned down in 2018.
