A 13-year-old Osceola Middle School student in Okeechobee County is in juvenile detention after the sheriff’s office said he planned a mass shooting at his school, the sheriff’s office said Saturday.
The boy is not being identified by WPTV.
He is accused of written or electronic threats to kill or mass shooting, a felony, and is at the juvenile facility in Fort Pierce.
In September, a 12-year-old boy was arrested after the Okeechobee County Sheriff’s Office said he threatened to conduct a mass shooting at the same middle school.
The sheriff’s office didn’t reveal when the threat was made.
“Recently, School Resource Deputy Robert Feldman was informed of a ‘Threat Assessment’ being conducted on 13-year-old student (deleted) at Osceola Middle School in Okeechobee,” spokesman Jack Nash said in a news release.
“During the assessment, the boy “reported hearing the voices of Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, the perpetrators of the Columbine Shooting in 1999” in Colorado.
The voices in his head compelled him to repeatedly plan a shooting at his school, Nash said.
The child’s family granted law enforcement access to his phones and laptops, which “was a responsible and proactive move that played a crucial role in quickly resolving the investigation,” he said.
A forensic diagnostic of electronics, along with his statements, gave deputies probable cause to arrest him.
The Okeechobee County Sheriff’s Office and the Okeechobee County School Board worked on this matter.
Interim Superintendent Dylan Tedders said the school has strict guidelines for this type of incident and will follow school policy.
“It takes a village to raise a child,” Sheriff Noel Stephen said.
Stephen urges parents to actively engage in conversations with their children about mental health, which is becoming an increasingly critical issue among youths.
He also encourages community members to be vigilant and to promptly report any signs of struggle in individuals, so that appropriate support and assistance can be provided