PEMBROKE PINES, FLA. (WSVN) - Two students in Pembroke Pines and one student in Miramar were arrested in the span of about 24 hours for allegedly threatening to shoot up their schools.
Thursday afternoon, Pembroke Pines Police said they arrested a 13-year-old boy at Silver Trail Middle School, along Sheridan Street and Northwest 184th Avenue.
According to officials, the student stated during class, “I know why people shoot up schools. I wish I could do it right now.” A teacher and several students overheard the student’s comments, prompting the teacher to alert a school resource officer.
“I heard it on the morning announcement. It’s just shocking,” said middle school student Julian Castro. “Why would you want to shoot up a school? It’s horrible.”
The teen was charged with a second-degree felony for making a false report concerning the use of a firearm in a violent manner. He will be held at a Juvenile Assessment Center for processing.
“He was only 12 years old a little bit more than a month ago. He does suffer from PTSD. He also has an intellectual disability,” said defense attorney Kory Hill. “We’ve learned through reliable sources he’s been found incompetent to proceed in a different county, so there are issues here.”
His arrest comes hours after two other teens were arrested for making similar threats.
“The parents have to talk to the kids. That’s the first thing you’ve got to do, is talk to the kids,” said parent Lenny Layla. “If you don’t talk to the kids, they’re going to do all kinds of crazy things.”
Wednesday evening, a 16-year-old student from Everglades High School in Miramar was arrested for allegedly making a verbal threat in school. The threatening remark made its way to social media as classmates warned others “not to go to school.”
“Kids make jokes all the time about shooting up the school, but I kind of took this one seriously,” Everglades High student Shaheerah Westkerr said. “He didn’t seem like he was joking when he said it.”
The following day, many students stayed home out of fear of something happening.
“A lot of people didn’t show up cause they were also really scared,” student Sarah Sanabria said.
Also on Thursday, Pembroke Pines Police arrested a 14-year-old Franklin Academy student for allegedly posting a photo to Instagram of another student holding a rifle with the caption “see you Monday” and “Gn Franklin.”
“Although most kids probably are kidding,” Franklin Academy student Laura Icona said, “if I see that they’re coming one day, I’m going home.”
Investigators also interviewed the teen in the photo and found out it was several weeks old and from an airsoft shooting event with friends.
Police said the suspect took the image without the other juvenile’s knowledge.
Broward County Public Schools Superintendent Robert Runcie urged parents to talk with their children about the consequences of making threats.
“Threats of violence to school are considered a crime,” he said. “It is a second-degree felony.”
Students in all three cases were charged with a second-degree felony for making a false report concerning the use of a firearm in a violent manner. They have also been ordered to undergo a psychological evaluation and were put on house arrest for 21 days.
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