By Joanna Putman
Police1
VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. — Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood followed through on a promise to publicly release a mug shot and “perp walk” video of an 11-year-old student arrested for making a school shooting threat, First Coast News reported.
“Because you don’t want to raise your kid, so Sheriff Chitwood’s going to raise them,” the sheriff said.
The student, from a Port Orange middle school, was taken into custody after allegedly creating a written list of names and targets. Although the child claimed it was a joke, the sheriff’s office took the threat seriously, recovering airsoft rifles, pistols, fake ammunition, knives and swords that the student had shown off to others in a video, according to the report.
The sheriff’s office published a video showing the student being led in handcuffs from a patrol vehicle into the police station, where he was processed before being placed in a holding cell.
Sheriff Chitwood had previously warned that his agency would begin publicly sharing the images of students caught making threats and their parents.
“For you parents out there, today’s hoax cost around $21,000,” Chitwood said. “We’re coming after you, and starting Monday, we’re going to start publishing [your child’s] face and doing perp walks with him when we take him into custody. Then we’re going to show pictures of you, the parents.”
“I can and will release the names and photos of juveniles who are committing these felonies, threatening our students, disrupting our schools and consuming law enforcement resources,” Chitwood reiterated on Facebook.
Two other students, ages 13 and 14, were also arrested in Volusia County last week for posting similar threats online, according to the report.