Florida sheriff fed up with school shooting hoaxes posts boy’s mugshot to social media
TALLAHASSEE, Florida — Fed up with the flood of fake threats about school shootings, a Florida sheriff is using a new tactic to reach students and their parents: posting photos of the perpetrators on social media.
Law enforcement officials in Florida and across the country have recently seen a wave of school shooting hoaxes, including in the wake of the deadly attack on Apalachee High School in Winder, Ga., where two students and two teachers.
Sheriff Mike Chitwood of Volusia County on Florida’s Atlantic coast said he’s had enough of hoaxes targeting students, disrupting schools and sapping law enforcement resources. In social media posts Monday, Chitwood warned parents that if their children are arrested for making these threats, he will make sure the public knows.
“Because parents don’t want to raise their children, I’m going to raise them,” Chitwood said. “Every time we arrest someone, your child’s picture is released. And if I can do it, I’m going to take your child for a walk so everyone can see what your child’s up to.”
Chitwood made the announcement in a video highlighting the arrest of an 11-year-old boy who was taken into custody for allegedly threatening to commit a school shooting at Creekside of Silver Sands Middle School in Volusia County. Chitwood posted the boy’s full name and a photo on his Facebook page.
In the video, which had been viewed more than 270,000 times on Facebook as of Monday afternoon, the camera pans around a conference table covered in airsoft guns, pistols, fake ammunition, knives and swords that police say the boy was “showing off” to other students.
Later in the video, we see officers remove the boy from a police car and lead him in handcuffs to a secure facility, dressed in a blue flannel shirt, black sweatpants, and flip-flops. The boy’s face is fully visible at several points in the video.
“This way, young man,” an officer tells the boy, his hands cuffed behind his back.
The boy is led to an empty cell, with metal shackles around his wrists and ankles, before an officer closes the door and locks him in.
“Do you have any questions?” the officer asks as he locks the door.
“No sir,” the boy replies.
The video sparked a flurry of responses on social media, with many residents praising Chitwood and calling on him to publicly identify the parents as well, or press charges against them.
Others questioned the sheriff’s decision, saying the 11-year-old is just a child and the responsibility lies with his parents.
Under Florida law, juvenile court records are generally exempt from public release — but not if the child is accused of a crime, as in this case.
Law enforcement officials across Florida have been tracking a flood of threats in the weeks since the start of the 2024-25 school year. In Broward County, home to Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, officials said last week they had already nine studentsage 11 to 15 years, for making threats since August.
“For my parents and the kids getting ready for school, I’ll say this again,” Broward Sheriff Gregory Tony said at a news conference, “this is not funny or meant to be funny.”
“Parents, students, this is not a game,” he added.
___ Kate Payne is a staff member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on under-reported issues.