4 More Volusia Students Facing Felony Charges As Threats, 'Jokes,' Gun Comments Continue

Date Added: March 01, 2018 6:25 pm

Andrew Gant
Office of Public Affairs & Media Relations

4 MORE STUDENTS FACING FELONY CHARGES AS THREATS, ‘JOKES,’ GUN COMMENTS CONTINUE

Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood announces offenders will be responsible for cost of VCSO response

Four more students were charged with making threats of violence or false statements about guns at Volusia County schools on Thursday, bringing the number of students facing these types of charges from the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office to 15 since the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in Parkland.

In light of the continued failures of so many students to heed repeated warnings from law enforcement and school administrators, Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood also announced Thursday that the defendants or their families will be held responsible for paying the cost of the Sheriff’s Office response to their cases. That cost has been determined to be a minimum of $1,082. The true cost could be much higher depending on the resources required in each individual case.

Those charged Thursday, all facing felony charges, are listed below. Offenders arrested under F.S.S. 790.162 (threat to discharge a destructive device, a second-degree felony) will qualify to be detained and held in secure detention.

• A 14-year-old male student at Creekside Middle School who was reported to have said he was going to be the next school shooter, and that he was going to do it soon. The student was also said to have jokingly told another student on his school bus that he would shoot him. These comments were made on Feb. 16, but reported to a VCSO deputy today. (F.S.S. 790.162)

• A 14-year-old female student at Deltona High School who held her hands in a gun gesture, tapped a school employee on the shoulder and said, “Bang bang.” This incident occurred on Tuesday, and a similar incident happened Wednesday afternoon. Another employee advised the student had done the same thing to him. These incidents were reported to a VCSO deputy today. (F.S.S. 790.162)

• A 15-year-old male student at Deltona High School who told a teacher he had a concealed weapon in his backpack. No weapon was found. (F.S.S. 790.163)

• A 17-year-old male student at New Smyrna Beach High School who used a piece of paper with a handgun and a bomb drawn on it to pretend to shoot another student during class today. The student told a deputy he was only joking. (F.S.S. 790.162)

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