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15-year-old arrested for talking about bomb threat at school in Fortnite, says Sheriff Chitwood

“Do your job”: Volusia Sheriff has had enough of false threats against schools

Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood has strong words for parents and students after his department noted a rise in fake school shooting threats. “Parents, do your job,” Sheriff Chitwood said. He said his school spent thousands of dollars investigating possible social media threats against schools, some of which turned out to be hoaxes. Some students have been arrested and charged. Sheriff Chitwood threatened that if he found out a parent knew about their student's alleged threats and did nothing about it, he would arrest them and take them away along with their child.

DELTONA, Florida – A 15-year-old boy was arrested early Sunday morning for allegedly talking to others about a bomb threat at school while playing, according to Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood. Fortnite.

Related story: 2 Volusia County students, 16 and 17, arrested for alleged threats at school: Sheriff Chitwood

“We arrested another student this morning for a fake threat. While playing Fortnite, he told another player he was going to get explosives and blow up Pine Ridge High School. We responded to the tip from Fortify Florida at approximately 1:30 a.m.,” Sheriff Chitwood posted Sunday on X, formerly Twitter.

Volusia County in particular has seen a number of recent threats from students on social media and online. Several students across the state, including in Central Florida, have been arrested and charged with making school shooting threats, a possible felony.

Sheriff Chitwood gained national attention when he released mugshots and videos of the children being led in handcuffs to the juvenile hall.

However, Sheriff Chitwood appeared reluctant on Sunday and said he would not show the photo of the 15-year-old because the child has autism.

“He's 15. That's the point. He has autism. I'm not going to videotape the perpetrator with this child this time. He's in custody on felony charges and will face the consequences of his actions. My promise to publicly expose others who make such threats still stands,” he said.

Last week, Sheriff Chitwood spoke about the problem and his reasons for releasing the identities during a press conference on the sharp increase in fake threats against schools.

“Parents, you don't want to raise your children, I'm going to start raising them. Every time we arrest someone, your child's photo will be released. And if I could, I would accompany your child as the offender so everyone can see what your child is up to,” said Sheriff Chitwood.

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