Police: Taravella High Student Arrested For Threatening To Shoot Up School
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CORAL SPRINGS (CBSMiami) -- Coral Springs Police say they arrested a student from Taravella High School who said he wanted to be a "professional school shooter" and would target his school.
According to police, they were contacted by a concerned citizen on April 3rd, who saw a threatening comment on YouTube.
The posted comment stated that "… I want to be a professional school shooter… (no sarcasm, Broward county, Florida) J.P. Taravella HS is my target, tomorrow. I'M LEGIT NOT JOKING AROUND! SPREAD MY MESSAGE!!!!"
According to the probable cause affidavit, during the course of the investigation, police discovered the threat was written by someone using the username "Sharp Shooter" and a person with that same username also edited the original post.
The edited threat stated, "For who ever is reading this, I will be shooting up my high school in broward county Fl. Tomorrow afternoon at 12:00 when school starts. Round 2. J.P. Taravella HS! (I am legit, make my presence known.)
Once police discovered who wrote the threat, they went to his home in Coral Springs.
The affadavit stated, "The defendant uttered that he was just joking and would not carry out his threat. There were firearms within the home and located and in their secured location by the defendant's father."
The student was placed into custody and taken to jail.
The arrest took place on April 4, one day after the threat was called in.
The Taravella student was arrested on a arrested on 1 count of Written Threats to Kill or Do Bodily Injury, which is a second degree felony. The state statue (F.S.S. 836.10) under which he was charged, was recently amended as part of the "Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Act" which enhanced criminal penalties for individuals who make threats to schools via social media.
The Coral Springs Police Department said it "thanks the concerned citizen for making a call and making a difference."
