A sheriff in the US state of Florida is taking drastic measures to counter increasing threats of alleged school massacres in his district. Mike Chitwood, the sheriff of Volusia County, announced that he would publish the photos and names of underage perpetrators on social media as a deterrent. “Parents, if you don’t educate your children, I will start educating them,” he warned.
Eleven-year-old in handcuffs
The words were soon followed by actions, as the 60-year-old showed on various online platforms on Monday (local time): He had an eleven-year-old arrested who had threatened to carry out a massacre at a school and published a video showing the boy being led away in handcuffs. He can also be seen being shackled before being locked in an empty cell. The sheriff’s office also posted the student’s police photo and name.
Threat «a serious crime»
The 11-year-old said it was just a joke, Chitwood said. Nevertheless, the threat was a serious crime. The boy boasted about weapons in a video chat and wrote down the names of people he said he wanted to kill on a list.
When searching his room, police officers seized a large number of airsoft rifles and pistols as well as fake ammunition, knives, swords and other weapons. Airsoft weapons look very similar to real firearms. However, plastic bullets do not come out of their barrels, rather they do.
Numerous threats
The crackdown has a serious background. Last Friday alone, police in the district received 54 reports of threatened school massacres. Although all of them turned out to be fake, investigating them cost around $24,000 (almost 22,000 euros). There have been 207 threats since January, local media reports said.
“Parents, do your job”
If he finds out that the parents knew what was going on but did nothing about it, he will also publicly expose them, the sheriff said at an event on Friday. “So parents, do your job: Don’t let Sheriff Chitwood raise your children. That is absolutely ridiculous,” he added.
In the USA, school shootings and fatal gun incidents are a common occurrence. Just two weeks ago, police arrested a 14-year-old who shot four people and injured several others at a school in the US state of Georgia. Firearms are readily available in the USA and are in large circulation.
