ST JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. — St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office arrested three Creekside High School students after they allegedly had a “hit list” and a “lethal hit list” of other students.
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According to the sheriff’s office, deputies with the Youth Services Unit made the arrests after conducting an investigation into suspicious communications between the students.
Deputies discovered text messages that discussed the identification of targeted students, which included photos of their faces circled, ariel photos of Creekside High School with an on-campus location circled and talks about using firearms to commit the crimes. The “hit list” was created for select students the group wanted to physically harm and the “lethal hit list” was for students the group wanted to kill.
Detectives with the Major Crimes Unit were consulted, and they decided to charge the students with written threats to kill or do bodily harm and unlawful use of a two-way communication device. Nikita Calantropo, 15, Ron Quinones, 14, and Kiryl Nerad, 14, were arrested and taken to St. Johns County Jail.
“Nothing is more important to me than the safety of our children, and this is another example of the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office commitment to protect the more than 50,000 students who attend classes on a daily basis. I am proud of the youth services deputies assigned to this investigation, who acted quickly on the information that was provided and prevented a potential tragedy,” said Sheriff Rob Hardwick.
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