MANATEE COUNTY, Fla. — Three students within the Manatee County School district were arrested for written threats to kill via social media on Wednesday, the Manatee County Sheriff's Office said in a news release.
An 11-year-old girl and two 14-year-olds were arrested between Buffalo Creek Middle School and Lakewood Ranch Preparatory School after allegedly posting written threats the night before, the agency said.
The sheriff's office became aware of the 11-year-old, a sixth grader at Buffalo Creek, after the school's administration reported a threat she made toward another student that read, "Be ready for tomorrow, I will kill u bruh."
When the 11-year-old arrived at school the next day, Manatee County deputies were waiting for her and searched her belongings, according to the sheriff's office.
No weapons were found, but the sixth-grader reportedly admitted to making the threat and was charged with written/electronic threats to kill, a second-degree felony.
Meanwhile at Lakewood Ranch, the two 14-year-olds, a boy and a girl, were messaging each other about an alleged fight in the school gym before one of them wrote, "I'm shooting up the school at 9."
Deputies reportedly arrived at Lakewood Ranch the next morning to provide security and "search for where the message originated," according to the agency.
The investigation ended after the girl admitted to creating the post while the boy admitted to writing a post about killing his classmates.
Both teens are charged with written/electronic threats to kill, deputies said.
"Students must understand the seriousness of making threats about school violence," Manatee County Sheriff Rick Wells stated in the release. "Make no mistake about it, if we have evidence that a student made a threat to kill, we arrest them and take them to the Juvenile Detention Center. I encourage parents to remind their children of the consequences of making school threats."
