12-Year-Old Girl in Florida Arrested for Posting 13-Point School Shooting Plan Online

Authorities in Florida have arrested a 12-year-old girl who posted online “at length a plan to carry out a mass shooting at Southwestern Middle School due to bullying.”

Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood named the girl and posted body camera footage of her arrest since Florida law allows that if minors are merely charged with a felony. CrimeOnline will not follow suit.

The girl was arrested “for making written threats to kill and misuse of a 2-way communications device,” the sheriff said.

WOFL reported that the arrest came after the sheriff’s office got an anonymous tip on February 22. Deputies found that the plan had been posted to a website but taken down, although comments — and a user name — remained.

An affidavit said the plan noted when to arrive at the school, where to meet with a friend who was allegedly going to help, and what time to start shooting. The plan also identifed a teacher who “gave me an F- on my test” and named students to target.

The IP address led to the 12-year-old Southwestern student living in DeLand.

The named targets were also connected with the school. Deputies spoke with the teacher to determine who had received an F on a test, and the 12-year-old girl was among them. A student who sits near the girl in class confirmed the bullying and told investigators that she “was kinda weird and we do say things to the weird kids in class.”

Chitwood said the student planned to kill herself after killing “as many as possible” during the shooting — and it wasn’t the first time she had threatened a school shooting. The plan contained 13 steps, but the sheriff said that deputies found no weapons as the girl’s home when she was arrested.

“But, I do want to say, kids get ahold of guns very easily,” he said. ” … Kids know where to get guns.”

Citing two other incidents in Florida over the weekend involving children with guns, Chitwood said there was clearly a problem but couldn’t identify it or suggest a solution.

“Somewhere along the line we’re missing the boat here,” he said. ” … There’s a huge problem out there in society.”

Police also spoke with the friend who was supposed to help with the shooting, and he named the suspect. When she was arrested, the suspect initially denied any involvement in the plan but later admitted she made it and posted it online.

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[Featured image: Volusia County Sheriff’s Office]