10-year-old boy accused of falsely reporting shooting at Oakland Park school

Boy confessed to making numerous fictitious 911 calls, deputies say

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – A 10-year-old boy was arrested this week after making several calls to 911 falsely reporting a shooting, including at his elementary school in Oakland Park, authorities said.

The first call was made Sunday.

According to an arrest report, the boy called 911 and said he heard two gunshots and then heard screaming. He then called back and asked deputies to hurry up, authorities said.

When deputies arrived, they found no evidence of a shooting. 

Authorities said the boy called 911 again on Monday via a cellphone, identified himself by the name of his aunt and reported a shooting at North Andrews Gardens Elementary School.

Authorities said deputies went to the school and placed it on lockdown.

It was later determined that there was no active shooter. 

After discovering who was behind the fake calls, deputies went back to the school and made the boy listen to the latest 911 call. 

Authorities said the boy confessed to making the call and admitted that he had placed other fictitious calls.

Authorities said the boy claimed that he didn't know why he did it and knew it was wrong.

He appeared in juvenile court Tuesday and was placed on home detention for three weeks.

"He showed a significant amount of remorse," his attorney, Kory Hill, said after the hearing. "We sat there for about an hour with the young man, and that was a big part of the conversation -- knowing that what he's done was very wrong and how he's going to fix that here moving forward."

The boy's next hearing is scheduled for May 23.


About the Authors:

Sanela Sabovic joined Local 10 News in September 2012 as an assignment editor and associate producer. In August 2015, she became a full-time reporter and fill-in traffic reporter. Sanela holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in communications with a concentration in radio, television and film from DePaul University.

Amanda Batchelor is the Digital Executive Producer for Local10.com.