2nd Deltona High School Student Faces Felony for Making School Threat

Date Added: February 23, 2018 5:29 pm

Laura Williams
Office of Public Affairs & Media Relations

2nd DELTONA HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT, 15, CHARGED WITH MAKING WEAPON THREAT

A 15-year-old male Deltona High School student who made a weapons threat in his English class was arrested Friday at 2:31 p.m. after the remark was reported to the school resource deputy. He was charged with making a false report concerning the use of a firearm, a felony, under Fla. Statute 790.164.

The student stood up in English class and told everyone to “shut up or I’m pulling out my arm cannon.”  A search of the teen and his backpack did not turn up any weapons. The teen said he was referring to a video game character and meant the remark as a joke. However, school officials and the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office have demonstrated zero tolerance for these actions. Students who continue to make jokes about guns, explosives, other weapons or acts of violence will continue to face potential criminal charges.

The teen was the second  Deltona High School student arrested in two days for making a statement about a gun at school. On Thursday, a 16-year-old was charged with a felony after saying he had a gun in his backpack on campus.

In addition, deputies recently charged three other students after receiving reports of threatening statements in Volusia schools. Last Friday, a 14-year-old student at Heritage Middle School commented in class about blowing up and shooting up his classroom. He was charged with making a false report of a bomb and disrupting a school function. On Tuesday, a 13-year-old student at Taylor Middle-High School in Pierson was charged with threatening to discharge a destructive device after students heard him say he might bring a gun to school and shoot people.

On Wednesday, a 14-year-old student at Deltona Middle School was charged with making a false report of a bomb after his third-period teacher reported the student yelled out a threat about blowing up the school.

The Sheriff’s Office will continue to investigate every suspicious incident to keep Volusia County’s schools and neighborhoods safe.