- April 19, 2024
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A 13-year-old Indian Trails Middle School student was arrested Dec. 16 after making comments about a school shooting amid a nationwide TikTok trend alluding to potential school violence to occur on Dec. 17, according to a news release from the Flagler County Sheriff's Office.
The online rumors have led some schools around the country to increase security or cancel classes.
The FCSO's Homeland Security Section had started monitoring social media activity on Dec. 16 and received a report from a student who said an Instagram account with the username of “itms_school_shooting” sent friend requests to her and other ITMS students and had posted a "story" that said, "Can’t wait for tomorrow.”
The student who contacted the FCSO had replied to the Instagram post, saying, “You’re not funny and can’t joke about that." The other account had responded, “I’m not joking,” and “Wait for tomorrow.”
The account owner later changed the username to “itms_school_food.”
Deputies linked the Instagram account to a phone number, then to a 13-year-old in Palm Coast's B-Section. The boy, when deputies spoke to him, said he was “just joking” with his friends and hadn't intended any harm.
The 13-year-old who made the “itms_school_shooting” account was arrested on a charge of False Report for Use of Firearms in a Violent Manner. The student was released to his parents in accordance with Department of Juvenile Justice guidelines, according to the news release.
“This has to stop! Kids — making threats of violence will only get you arrested,” Sheriff Rick Staly said, according to the news release. “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! I commend the reporter for doing the right thing and notifying us of the TikTok comments. 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.”
The TikTok trend also prompted the school district's spokesman, Jason Wheeler, to leave a voicemail message for area parents, imploring them to talk to their children.
"We want to be proactive in asking our families to help us prevent someone from making a serious mistake," he said. "It doesn't matter is this is a joke, it doesn't matter if it's a prank. ... Any threat of violence could result in serious disciplinary issues that could damage a student's educational future in Flagler Schools. We are hoping that our families will partner with us to stop these pranks before they happen. Please take a few moments to talk to your children and express the severity of this issue."
Students who see a threat on social media or elsewhere should report it immediately to school district staff or to law enforcement, he added.
Flagler Schools has faced repeated incidents of students making threatening statements, then, when questioned by law enforcement officers, saying that they'd just been joking. The students have been arrested.
