A sheriff in Florida who released the mug shot and a “perp walk” video earlier this week of an 11-year-old accused of threatening to shoot up a school released two new videos of teenagers he says made similar threats.
Sheriff Mike Chitwood of Volusia County released the two videos Wednesday night, the second in a series of releases to tackle what the sheriff has referred to as a problem that is “disrupting our schools and consuming law enforcement resources.” Chitwood released video and the names of a 16- and 17-year-old accused of threatening schools, according to the Associated Press.
Chitwood said he decided to release the information because he is tired of receiving notifications of school threats on his phone. According to him, Volusia County has received 280 school threats since the school year started weeks ago. In all of last year, the county had 352.
“It just stuck with me because my cellphone was going off, telling me about the other threats. Thinking to myself, how many parents in this country have done just what I just did,” Chitwood said, “and they never, ever, ever get to hold their loved one again.”
The school had warned the two students that law enforcement was willing to release the names and photos of children accused of making threats against schools, according to the sheriff’s X account.
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“Again. 2 more @volusiaschools students locked up for a ‘joke’ threat. It’s a felony,” the sheriff wrote. “This was RIGHT AFTER their school played our message about how serious we take these ‘jokes.’ Just unbelievable.”
The sheriff can be heard in the video saying, “Go talk to the families who have lost a loved one in a school shooting. These little knuckleheads think it’s funny? Go talk to those parents and see how funny this is,” according to the outlet.