A 10-year-old boy has been arrested and charged after police say he threatened to carry out a mass shooting at his Florida elementary school.
The fifth grade student at Patriot Elementary School in Cape Coral was taken into custody on Saturday after police were made aware of the alleged threat, according to the Lee County Sheriff's Office.
The boy made the alleged threat via text message, police said.
"The School Threat Enforcement Team was immediately notified and began analytical research. Due to the nature of the incident, the Youth Services Criminal Investigations Division assumed the case," police said in a statement posted to Facebook. "Detectives interviewed the suspect... and developed probable cause for his arrest."
The boy was charged with making a written threat to conduct a mass shooting.
"This student's behavior is sickening, especially after the recent tragedy in Uvalde, Texas," Sheriff Carmine Marceno said, noting the elementary school shooting that left 19 students and two teachers dead. "Making sure our children are safe is paramount. We will have law and order in our schools! My team didn't hesitate one second... NOT ONE SECOND, to investigate this threat."
The sheriff's office posted video of the boy being led into a police car in handcuffs. Audacy News is not identifying the child because of his age.
"Right now is not the time to act like a little delinquent. It's not funny. This child made a fake threat, and now he's experiencing real consequences," Sheriff Marceno said.
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