TAMPA, Fla. — A 13-year-old student was arrested on Monday after deputies say he made threats via social media to shoot students at a middle school in Tampa.
The teen boy was charged with written or electronic threats to conduct a mass shooting or act of terrorism and unlawful use of a two-way communications device.
The student used Snapchat to make the threat and sent it to his girlfriend who's in eighth grade at Buchanan Middle School, the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office said in a news release.
"Ima shoot up the school today," the message sent from the teen's account read. "I'm only getting you tho."
After speaking with the student's parents, authorities say the child had no access to guns in his home.
"Unfortunately, this teenager has learned the hard way that if you make an online threat, the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office will hold you accountable," Sheriff Chad Chronister said in a statement. "I implore parents to talk about social media and its proper use with their children. We will investigate every threat with diligence and determination."
The investigation of the incident remains ongoing.
