Indian Trails Student Arrested For Bogus School Shooting Threat

Palm Coast, FL – Deputies believe a 13-year-old Indian Trails Middle School student’s recent threat of a school shooting is all part of a trend where people call in bogus threats to their school. The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office says the FCSO Homeland Security Section began to monitor social media platforms on Thursday (Dec. 16) after the news broke about the trend that was circulating throughout TikTok.  That’s when deputies caught wind of an Indian Trails student who created a TikTok account referencing a potential school shooting to take place the following day, which prompted an investigation. Investigators learned that a TikTok account named “itms_school_shooting” sent friend requests to a number of Indian Trails students who used the platform. A student who informed authorities about the threat said one of the posts on the account said “can’t wait for tomorrow.” They responded to their post saying they couldn’t joke about a school shooting, to which the account replied “I’m not joking” and “wait for tomorrow.” By 10:00 that night, the account had changed its name to “itms_school_food.” “This has to stop! Kids, making threats of violence will only get you arrested,” Flagler Sheriff Rick Staly said. “Parents, talk to your children, now! Words have consequences. And saying it’s a joke is not an alibi. We have zero tolerance for making threats and you will be arrested!” Deputies eventually traced the account to a 13-year-old B-section resident who told deputies he was “just joking” about the post when he was interviewed. They were arrested for false report for use of firearms in a violent manner and transported to the Flagler County Jail.  According to the sheriff’s office, the student did not meet criteria for detention at the Department of Juvenile Justice, so they were released into their parent’s custody. Sheriff Staly commented on the DJJ’s refusal in a press release. “I only wish DJJ would take these criminal acts more seriously so the system has teeth and consequences. As we have seen, catch and release does not work.” Staly’s sentiments echo those of Volusia Sheriff Mike Chitwood, who has also decried some of the decisions by the DJJ. In one recent case, a teen who posed with guns on Instagram was arrested and booked into the DJJ, but only received a curfew and a 250-word essay as their sentence. That same teen later shot a man in the leg as he tried to buy marijuana from him.