10-year-old arrested by popular TikTok sheriff over shooting text threat

Cape Coral, Florida - A 10-year-old Florida boy is under arrest for allegedly threatening to conduct a mass shooting, police in Lee County said Sunday.

Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno has created a number of TikTok videos since the Uvalde shooting, saying any shooters threatening his Florida schools will be killed.
Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno has created a number of TikTok videos since the Uvalde shooting, saying any shooters threatening his Florida schools will be killed.  © Screenshot/Twitter/@SheriffLeeFL

The minor was arrested Saturday and charged with the crime of Making a Written Threat to Conduct a Mass Shooting, after the Patriot Elementary School fifth-grader sent a threatening text message, the Lee County Sheriff’s Office said.

"This student’s behavior is sickening, especially after the recent tragedy in Uvalde, Texas," Sheriff Carmine Marceno said in a statement.

"Making sure our children are safe is paramount. We will have law and order in our schools! My team didn’t hesitate one second…NOT ONE SECOND, to investigate this threat."

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The School Threat Enforcement Team checked into the allegation immediately and referred it to the Youth Services Criminal Investigations Division, the sheriff’s office said.

Detectives interviewed the child, determined there was probable cause, and made the arrest, authorities said.

Marceno has created a number of popular TikTok videos since the Uvalde shooting set to pop music in the background, threatening any shooters that "present deadly physical force" at one of his Florida schools.

"We're not waiting one second. We are going to kill you," he said in one video. "Because you can't kill evil enough."

School shootings prompted the swift action in Florida

Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno's TikTok account is taking a tough stance on anyone threatening or joking about a school shooting.
Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno's TikTok account is taking a tough stance on anyone threatening or joking about a school shooting.  © Screenshot/TikTok/leesheriffcarminemarceno

Police and others in the shootings in Buffalo, New York, and Uvalde, Texas, this month have been criticized for not heeding warning signs before the alleged shooters gunned down 10 and 21 people, respectively.

Likewise, authorities in Michigan were accused of not doing enough to prevent a shooting last December at Oxford High School, in which a 15-year-old is accused of gunning down four students and wounding seven other people. The shooter's parents were arrested after a manhunt for buying their son the weapon, and officials allowed the student to return to school after multiple disturbing red flags.

"Right now is not the time to act like a little delinquent," Marceno said of Saturday's arrest. "It’s not funny. This child made a fake threat, and now he’s experiencing real consequences."

Cover photo: Screenshot/Twitter/@SheriffLeeFL

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