JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A 15-year-old boy has been arrested in connection with threats made to Landmark Middle School on Monday.
Action News Jax is not naming the teen due to his age. He is facing a charge of send written threat to conduct mass shooting, according to a Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office arrest report.
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A school safety officer working at the school on Monday was told about a threat that was posted on Instagram, the report said.
The screenshot showed text that said “lucky I didn’t come today I’ll be there tomorrow (with a thumbs up emoji) I bring my biggest gun.”
A second screenshot showed text that said “dropping threes in all my pictures (with a smiley face angel emoji) boy don’t bring yo (expletive) outside if you don’t got no pistol (with another face emoji).”
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The report said another screenshot included text that said “you go to landmark?” “don’t come to school tomorrow you pretty I cant shoot you” “I could not come today (smiley face emoji)” “What do you mean playing in your phone.”
JSO put in a record request to Instagram and found the email address used to create the account matched that of an active Landmark Middle School student.
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The school was put on a Code Yellow lockdown on Tuesday and all students and staff were searched, the report said. The student linked to the Instagram account was located getting off the bus around 9:15 a.m.
Landmark Middle School was one of two Duval County middle schools on Monday that were “implementing enhanced security procedures” due to a social media threat “to conduct a shooting” at the schools, according to messages from the schools’ principals that were sent to parents.
A message from Landmark Middle School principal Dr. Cicely Tyson-White said metal detectors would be in use and student belongings would be searched.
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Here is the full message from Tyson-White to parents:
Communication to Families
“Hello Landmark Middle School families. This is Principal Tyson-White calling. I apologize for interrupting your evening, but I know you will want to be aware of this situation.
“We have been informed that someone has posted a message on social media threatening to conduct a shooting at our school. Law enforcement is currently investigating this threat, and we will be implementing enhanced security procedures tomorrow morning. These procedures will include the use of our metal detectors and search of student belongings as they enter the school. Again, as a result of this threatening post, we will implement enhanced security procedures tomorrow morning upon school entry. As you know, we take all threats seriously, and we will take appropriate steps to maintain a safe and secure campus for students and staff. I will also keep you updated if we receive any further information. Thanks for your cooperation as we work through this situation, and again, I will update you if any further information becomes available. Good-bye.”
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DCPS said it believes that another person is also participating in these threats, and because of that, the investigation remains open.
“Because of the possibility that a second person has also made another threat, Landmark will continue to implement enhanced security procedures including searches of all students and their belongings upon school entry on March 1,” DCPS said in a statement.
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Duval County School Police Chief Greg Burton released the following statement in response to the arrest and the investigation into the threats:
“Threats to schools, students, and staff are not tolerated. We will fully investigate any threat of violence to our schools, and we will engage many other law enforcement partners and resources to help identify those responsible. If it breaks the law, we will do everything we can to arrest those responsible. If a student is involved, that student will also face serious disciplinary consequences under the student code of conduct. Please reinforce with your children that this behavior will never be dismissed as a joke or harmless child’s play.”
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