14-year-old girl arrested over threats posted on social media against Broward County schools, authorities say
FORT LAUDERDALE - A 14-year-old girl was arrested on Saturday for making online threats against schools in Broward County, authorities say.
Monday, authorities said there were no credible threats to Broward schools.
The latest threats were posted earlier Saturday in multiple stories on Instagram, the Broward Sheriff's Office said in a news release Sunday.
"One post listed several schools across Broward County that would be targeted with violence," the sheriff's office said. "Other posts contained additional threats of a school shooting or other violence. Multiple individuals saw these posts online and reported them to law enforcement."
The teen, who authorities did not name, admitted to authorities that she made the threats and said they were intended to be a joke, the sheriff's office said. Authorities didn't say which schools were named in the online messages.
The girl, a high school student, was taken to the Juvenile Assessment Center in Fort Lauderdale and faces charges including "making written threats to kill/conduct a mass shooting" and "unlawful use of a two-way communication device," according to the sheriff's office.
The school district sent an email to parents on Saturday afternoon about social media threats. It later said in a statement posted on X: "A social media threat posted this weekend against specific Broward County Public Schools has been neutralized."
"There is no safety concern to any of our campuses regarding this post," the statement added.
In Florida, a threat made against a school is a second-degree felony. Students also face school disciplinary measures, including expulsion.