In Parkland, a New Threat: 'I Hope Y'all Aren't Snitches'

17-year-old junior arrested after hinting at school shooting at Stoneman Douglas
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Dec 3, 2021 4:15 PM CST
Teen Arrested After Threat Against Parkland High School
Law enforcement officers block off the entrance to Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on Feb. 15, 2018, in Parkland, Fla., following the deadly shooting.   (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee, File)

A South Florida teenager has been arrested after investigators learned he made a threat against Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, the site of a mass shooting that killed 17 people on Valentine's Day in 2018. A caller reported seeing the threat late Wednesday night, according to the Broward Sheriff's Office. Officials said the 17-year-old high school junior had sent a text message to his classmates in a social media chat room just after 9pm Wednesday, per the AP.

"I feel like school shooting tmrw (tomorrow)," the text message said, according to a probable cause affidavit. "When I sneeze it's a signal go to the bathroom OK. I hope y'all aren't snitches." Investigators found the student at his home, and he was arrested early Thursday on one count of writing a threat to conduct a mass shooting, sheriff's officials said. The school's principal, Michelle Kefford, notified parents about the threat Thursday morning through a robocall. Stoneman Douglas has been at the center of national debate and activism over gun violence in schools since a former student killed 17 people and wounded another 17 in 2018.

The mother of the teen told WSVN that her son didn't mean it and that to him it was a joke. She said they'd lived in another country where schools are safe at the time of the massacre in Parkland. "He's a normal kid from a normal family and a safe environment," she said. "He doesn't realize the world is not so safe." The incident comes in the wake of this week's deadly shooting at Oxford High School in Michigan, and USA Today reports that copycat threats forced the cancellation of classes Thursday throughout the metro Detroit area.

(More Florida stories.)

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