PUTNAM COUNTY, Fla. — An 11-year-old elementary school student was arrested Wednesday afternoon for saying there was a bomb on a school bus, according to the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office.
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It happened during afternoon drop-off from James A. Long Elementary School in Putnam County. The child “decided to install panic by yelling there was a bomb on the bus,” the sheriff’s office said.
The bus driver contacted the depot, and a large deputy presence responded to the bus on U.S. 17 North and West River Road.
Deputies arrested the 11-year-old and charged him with false reporting of a weapon of mass destruction, a second-degree felony.
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He is currently being held at the Department of Juvenile Justice in Volusia County without bond.
“There is zero tolerance when it comes to the safety of our students, faculty and staff in our schools,” Sheriff H.D. ‘Gator’ DeLoach said in a social media post. “These actions are not funny and cause undue stress and panic for our children. I will continue to pursue and arrest any student or adult that makes these types of threats. If there is an underlying cause to this young man’s behavior, I hope he gets the help he needs.”
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