NSB High School Teen Charged With Making School Shooting Threat

Date Added: April 24, 2019 5:01 pm

Laura Williams, Office of
Public Affairs & Media Relations

NSB HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT CHARGED WITH MAKING SCHOOL SHOOTING THREAT
FBI notified VCSO of 16-year-old’s comment on YouTube video

A 16-year-old New Smyrna Beach High School student was charged with threatening to discharge a destructive device today after the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office received information from the FBI about his comments on a YouTube video about the 1999 Columbine High School shootings.

A VCSO member of the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force was notified this morning that the student was involved in a YouTube discussion about Columbine, commenting: “… the shooting was the best thing I ever found out about, I plan to do the same thing my senior year, it’s f***ing coming.” That information was reported to the FBI through a tip line.

Initially, the comment was traced back to an account in Hawaii. It was soon learned that the student recently moved from Hawaii to Volusia County. The Edgewater teen (DOB 4/13/2003) was identified, interviewed and charged with a felony under Florida Statute 790.162. He was taken into custody today without incident. Inside the student’s backpack, a deputy located several graphic drawings depicting violence. These drawings were similar to drawings reported by a school resource deputy at the student’s previous school in Hawaii.

Sheriff Mike Chitwood praised the cooperation and quick action taken and vowed to keep schools and the community safe from such threats, adding: “The warning signs were there, and thanks to cooperation between the FBI, authorities in Hawaii and our own deputies in Volusia County, we were able to intervene. We’ll take every threat seriously, and anyone who has information about a potential threat like this should contact law enforcement immediately.”

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