Police arrest teen and seize guns after online threats to ‘shoot up school’

A Florida teenager was arrested and charged Sunday in connection with what police called online threats to “shoot up” a high school, before seizing a collection of guns and protective vests.

The 17-year-old was arrested after police in Sanford, less than an hour north of Orlando, were alerted to a video allegedly featuring him threatening to launch an attack on nearby Seminole High School.

He has been charged with intimidation through making a written or electronic threat of mass shooting or a terrorist act. The teenager is a student at Elevation High School, also in Sanford, and was arrested without incident at his home, police said.

Police said they acted on an anonymous tip received Saturday, which pointed them to the video that showed multiple guns.

The Orlando Sentinel reported, citing court documents, that in the video the teenager claimed to have an extensive arsenal, including an AK-47 assault rifle, a SVD rifle, a Glock 19 handgun and a M4 rifle.

When police searched his home, however, they instead found airsoft weapons and an airsoft vest. They also seized a laptop, iPhone, a knife and a notebook from the house, the Sentinel reported.

Sanford Police Chief Cecil Smith said the 17-year-old was quickly identified as the person in the video thanks to the quick collaboration of multiple agencies including the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office, Homeland Security, the FBI and Seminole County Public Schools.

“This fast action and team work most likely prevented a tragedy and saved multiple lives,” he said in a statement.

Superintendent Serita Beamon said: “I am so thankful for the collaborative work and relentless dedication of all the agencies involved in bringing this incident to a conclusion.”

There has so far been one planned school shooting in the United States this year, at a high school in Nashville in January, when one student was killed and another was injured. The suspect fatally shot himself.

A 19-year-old gunman killed 17 people at his former school in Parkland, Florida, in 2018.

Anyone with information on the Seminole County case is asked to contact Sanford Police Department or Crime line at 800 423-TIPS (8477) or visit www.crimeline.org, which they can do anonymously.