FLORAHOME, Fla. — UPDATE 11/25/2019: A 14-year-old student at Q.I. Roberts Junior-Senior High School was arrested and charged Monday with a second-degree felony for writing a threatening message to injure or kill, police say. According to the report, deputies found a detailed plan including a map of the school in the student's possession.
Joshua Patterson, 14, of Interlachen, was taken into custody after the anonymous tip from the Fortify Florida app alerted the sheriff's office of a potential shooting threat at the school.
Deputies and school officials took immediate action after receiving the tip to secure Patterson, and remove him from students and staff. A map of the school was found in Patterson’s backpack with a time listed by one of the teacher’s rooms. No weapons were found with the student or on campus, the Putnam County Sheriff's Office says.
Original Story:
A teen was taken into custody after the Putnam County Sheriff's Office received a tip about a potential school shooting threat.
The anonymous tip about the threat came into the Sheriff's Office through the Fortify Florida app, according to a release from PCSO.
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Youth Resource Deputies then removed the 14-year-old student from class at Q.I. Roberts Junior-Senior High School.
No weapons were found on campus or at the school and the student is still in custody at the Sheriff's Office, the release said.
“Due to the anonymous tip, deputies were able to work swiftly toward removing the student and a lock down was never issued at the school,” Sheriff H.D. “Gator” DeLoach said in the release. “The person who reported this incident did the right thing by using the app. We do not know who provided the tip, but we want to extend our thanks and gratitude to that person. We want parents to know, we take each and every threat seriously and the safety of our children is our upmost (sic) concern.”
“We want to keep our students and parents apprised of the latest information regarding school safety so that we can continue to keep our schools safe,” Putnam County Schools Superintendent Rick Surrency said in a statement.
The Q.I. Roberts fall festival will go on as planned with an increased law enforcement presence, according to a release from the Putnam County School District.
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