Sheriff Mike Chitwood is ready to publicly shame anyone behind a school shooting hoax—no matter their age. After the Volusia County, Florida, cop got fed up with multiple calls about school shootings that turned out to be false alarms, he took to his Facebook page to lay down the law.
“You don’t stand up on an airplane and yell hijack. You don’t walk into a movie theater and yell fire. You don’t get online and post that you’re going to shoot up a school,” he said in a video posted earlier this month. “It’s going to get your ass sent to jail.”
As for the parents of underage perpetrators, Chitwood explained, “Today’s hoax cost around $21,000. There’s two people in custody. We’re coming after you.”
“Starting Monday, your little cherub, we’re going to start publishing his face and doing perp walks with him when we take him into custody. And then we’re going to show pictures of you, the parents,” he said. “You don’t want to raise your kid? Sheriff Chitwood’s gonna raise them. You think it’s a joke? You’re going to find your ass in handcuffs and you’re going to find your ass being paraded out in front of the news media… and your parents are going to be filmed as they come to pick you up.”
Chitwood finished his video with a warning.
“Parents, get your kids in line or your checkbook’s gonna hurt, your pride’s gonna hurt,” he said.
Chitwood stuck to his word by releasing the mug shot of an 11-year-old boy and publicly sharing the tween’s identity.
“As promised. We just arrested a Creekside Middle School student who made threats to commit a school shooting at Creekside or Silver Sands Middle School,” Chitwood wrote. “He had written a list of names and targets. He says it was all a joke.”
According to Chitwood, the boy made a video in which he was “showing off” weapons. In the clip, the tween had airsoft rifles, pistols, fake ammunition, knives, and swords. Now, the middle schooler has been charged with a felony for making a written threat of a mass shooting.
Later, Chitwood shared a video, which showed the boy on his perp walk, having his ankles handcuffed, and being placed in a cell.
Identities of those under 18 are usually kept confidential. However, when a minor has been arrested for a felony, charged with a felony, or found guilty of a felony, Florida law allows for their criminal history information to be made public.
The post Florida Sheriff Perp Walks 11-Year-Old for School Shooting Hoax appeared first on VICE.
The post Florida Sheriff Perp Walks 11-Year-Old for School Shooting Hoax appeared first on VICE.
