‘Parents have got to start parenting:’ Putnam Sheriff’s strong message after more threat arrests

At least 15 kids have now been arrested locally in the last 10 days, accused of making school threats.

The latest is an 11-year-old boy from Putnam County and Action News Jax got an inside look at what Putnam County Sheriff H.D. “Gator” DeLoach said the boy bought online.

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“I don’t care if you’re in rural Northeast Florida, California, Washington State, or New York City, you’re going to get shot if you point this at a law enforcement officer,” DeLoach said.

The Putnam County Sheriff’s Office said deputies met with a parent of a student who goes to Putnam Academy of Arts and Sciences. Officials say the parent told investigators her child was in a group text that received a photo of what appeared to be firearms and the text, “Don’t come to school tomorrow.”

While it looks real, it’s actually airsoft guns.

Read: 11-year-old arrested for school threat in Putnam County after sending group text

DeLoach showed Action News Jax the three airsoft guns that were purchased online by the boy. There was a Desert Eagle airsoft pistol with a fixed suppressor, another smaller-looking airsoft pistol, and a replica Glock 18 airsoft gun.

“I can tell you with 100 percent certainty, if someone pulls this on one of my deputies we’re going to return fire,” DeLoach said.

In the last two days, deputies said an 11-year-old threatened Putnam Academy of Arts and Sciences, and a 13-year-old made threats to two girls at Palatka Junior-Senior High, indicating he was bringing a gun to school.

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Action News Jax is not showing their mugshots because of their ages.

“This hits home for me. I spent a lot of time as a youth resource deputy, the safety and security of our children is very near and dear to me,” DeLoach said. “It’s not something I’m willing to play around with.”

In both of these school threats, investigators said the students claimed they were just joking, but DeLoach told Action News Jax none of this is funny.

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“We’re going to continue to post these pictures of these punks who think they might be playing a game,” DeLoach said. “This is not a game to us, it’s real life at the end of the day. If you’re going to play adult games, you’re going to get adult prizes for them.”

DeLoach believes there needs to be boundaries for online access and has a message for parents.

“These parents have got to start parenting, they have to be involved in their children’s life, they’ve got to make sure they’re monitoring what they’re doing on social media if they grant them access,” he said. “Parents have got to stop being their friends and start parenting these kids.”

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