Florida fifth grader arrested, charged with threatening a mass shooting, police say

A fifth grade student in Florida was arrested over the weekend and charged with sending a text message threatening to carry out a mass capturing, authorities stated.

In a statement Saturday, the Lee County Sheriff’s Office said it had learned earlier that day of a "threatening textual content message" sent by a student at an elementary faculty.

It said its local college threat enforcement group was instantly notified and started investigating. The 10-year-old boy was interviewed and charged later with "making a written menace to conduct a mass shooting," the sheriff's workplace said.

In video shared by authorities, the boy may be seen being led into a police vehicle.

“This student’s conduct is sickening, especially after the latest tragedy in Uvalde, Texas,” Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno said in an announcement, noting that the menace came simply days after the lethal school capturing at Robb Elementary School left 19 students and two academics lifeless.

“Proper now is not the time to act like a bit delinquent. It’s not funny,” he said. “This youngster made a faux menace, and now he’s experiencing real penalties.”

Marceno stated his staff “didn’t hesitate one second...NOT ONE SECOND,” to research the incident.

The comment got here as authorities in Uvalde face mounting criticism over their response to the Might 24 college capturing after it got here to mild that they waited roughly an hour for backup as an alternative of instantly transferring in on the gunman.

Chantal Da Silva is a breaking information editor for NBC Information Digital primarily based in London.