14-year-old student at Pompano Beach school arrested over social media threats

POMPANO BEACH, Fla. ā€“ A 14-year-old student at Pompano Beach Middle School was arrested early Wednesday morning after threatening messages toward students at the school were posted to social media, authorities said.

According to Broward Sheriffā€™s Office spokeswoman Miranda Grossman, deputies were notified around 9 p.m. Tuesday about the threat involving multiple students from the school that had been made through Snapchat.

According to the teenā€™s arrest report, the mother of a girl reported the threats after she saw her daughter listed in the thread with threats to kill her.

Police said the teen had posted several messages in the group chat regarding a number of people.

One post read: ā€œIā€™m adding (redacted) to my shooting list,ā€ and another read, ā€œIā€™m bringing a gun to school.ā€

The teen was taken into custody around 3:45 a.m. Wednesday.

Police said they met with the teen and his father, and that the teen confessed to posting the messages, saying that it was all a joke.

The boyā€™s father told Local 10 News that his son is a good student who made a bad choice.

ā€œHe was joking about this with his friend and his associates,ā€ said the father, who did not want to be identified. ā€œHeā€™ll be alright, itā€™s no big deal about it. He diid stupid things like joke with his friends.ā€

Grossman said the student was arrested and taken to the Juvenile Assessment Center. He faces one count of written threats to kill.

The teen is expected to appear before a judge on Thursday.

Broward County Sheriff Gregory Tony spoke on the matter on Wednesday and had a very serious warning for any student who might consider making a similar threat.

ā€œFor my students, what I want them to understand is that these are felony charges,ā€ said Tony. ā€œIt isnā€™t a misdemeanor, it isnā€™t a citation, itā€™s not even a warning. These are felony criminal charges that will stay with them for the rest of their life.ā€


About the Authors:

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

Terrell Forney joined Local 10 News in October 2005 as a general assignment reporter. He was born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio, but a desire to escape the harsh winters of the north brought him to South Florida.