A week after an 11-year-old Virginia boy was sentenced in county court for making a series of threats that disrupted multiple schools for several days running, a 12-year-old Palm Coast girl was arrested on charges of threatening to kill another child in a dispute over a boy, using SnapChat to convey the threats. No school was involved in the latest incident.
The girl, K.N., an E-Section resident, faces a second-degree felony charge.
According to the girl’s arrest report, a 20-year-old woman reported to Flagler County Sheriff’s deputies on Thursday evening that her younger sister had been the victim of the threats, after having issues with K.N.
The two girls argued over a boy on SnapChat, the social media messenger app that automatically deletes messages after a short period. The argument escalated as K.N. proposed to fight the other girl.
“I will literally fucking kill you if you call the cops,” K.N. is alleged to have messaged the other girl, “bitch I will literally blow your brains out.”
“After the digital threats were sent,” K.N.’s arrest report states, “it was said that the account sent a video of her walking towards the victim’s house and told her to send her address several times.” Though SnapChat deletes messages, users often capture them by taking screen captures.
The threats were disseminated through a group chat, suggesting more posturing than intent. K.N. herself initially told a deputy that she did not have a SnapChat account, though she said her former account had been hacked by an ex-boyfriend. She gave a deputy consent to open her phone, which had a SnapChat app. The account on the phone was active, signed in, and receiving messages. The account matched the one from where the threats had originated.
K.N. denied sending the video or the threats “in spite of the fact the messages sounded consistent [with] her voice, tone, pitch and inflection,” the arrest report states. She was arrested.
Neither child had the means nor the actual desire to carry out the threats, though that doesn’t change how they’re charged and what penalties they may face. The two unrelated cases underscored the continuing challenge officials face with minors making grave threats.
“The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office always takes any threat seriously, no matter how old you are. And if you threaten to kill someone, even if it’s over something as trivial as arguing over a boy, we will arrest you,” Sheriff Rick Staly was quoted as saying in a release.
The case is likely to be tried in juvenile court, ending in probation if K.N. is found guilty.
A week ago, N.M., the 11-year-old boy who phoned in bomb and shooting threats that disrupted the last week of school in Flagler County, especially at Flagler Palm Coast High School, before the summer break, was adjudicated delinquent by County Judge Melissa Distler. The judge ordered him to be held in detention in Volusia County until he can be placed in a high-risk program, which includes counseling, mental health treatment, and continued education.
Upon completing the in-custody program, the boy will be allowed to return to Virginia under conditional supervised release for a yet-to-be-determined amount of time. Among the restrictions is the use of electronics and supervised access to the internet. As part of the sentence, the Court ordered restitution of $46,234 to the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office for the cost of the investigation and responses to the schools from his calls.
As disturbing as the young age of the suspects may be, the cases also point to a clear trend: Cases of overt threats involving high school students have decreased, as have such cases overall in Flagler County, suggesting that schools’ and authorities’ messaging has been effective with older students, but has yet to be as effective with younger students.
Concerned says
Y God, it’s a 12 year old that says crap that is only crap. Ease up for her sake.
BIG Neighbor says
Why does BIG sMedia enable users to post and publish on demand without an Ai agent to screen and intercept what equates to falsely yelling fire in a crowded cinema, at this point in the game? We know the capability is there. Yet, incidents like these slip by? Is it because word strings choices like what this over-impulsive youngster used are scaling so quickly, a few are bound to get out there? And now we see young people disengaging without social skills and we don’t call out ourselves as “leaders” of influence by continuing to be seen by them and others using these platforms when we know how detrimental they can be? Infrastructure of distributed commerce is OUR biggest insider threat and a heightened emphasis to value data privacy as ethical justice is not practiced. Without data ethics, human beings are shaped by impulse to be human actors, the most vulnerable being our children. If we don’t answer this call to alter these new norms, we will continue to see consequences of letting lagging bureaucratic forces determine outcomes in an age of predictive analytics.
Rights & Responsibilities says
It’s called the First Amendment. What needs to be taught is with rights come responsibility. Violating those responsibilities to one’s rights end with undesirable consequences. That’s the message that MUST be taught to the younger generation or we will continue to see this type of behavior.
Joe says
What parent allows their child to speak violence as young as 12 years old? Parents need to be held accountable for their children’s behavior.
Standing in the Middle of Palm Coast Parkway says
An 11-year-old child can’t sign a mobile phone contract. The solution is to go after the person who signed the mobile phone contract.
TR says
An irresponsible one.
KC says
I believe if the school district took bullying more seriously things like this would not happen.
The district has created a permissive culture with zero accountability for troublemakers. Students and parents regularly beg for help from the district when they or their children are victims and they are rarely taken seriously. 50% of the fault for this lies with district and school leadership.
Teach them that this nonsense won’t be tolerated and it will not escalate to this level.
Jack says
It is not the schools job to parent students. There would be very little need for bullying rules and consequences if parents did their job in the first place.
Trash Parents says
Trash parents. Some people shouldn’t be allowed to procreate unless they intend on doing actual parenting.
Disgusted in Flagler County says
But why is the Flagler sheriff’s asking a 12 year old for permission to look in her phone??? Why? Did you have the consent of her parents because even if you read her her rights which I’m sure you did not, she’s not old enough to understand the mumbo jumbo. FKN Flagler county! Every cop should be required to have an associates degree in psychology to say the least. A twelve year old??? Did you read her her rights?????
Bonnie says
Dear Disgusted, Since the school shootings in S. Florida, our state law was changed and any threats, no matter the age, must be treated as real. Any child behaving this violently needs serious treatment. How many children do you know who make violent threats like this one?
Take a good look says
KC you bring up a great point. So true about the school staff and personnel who too often tend to dismiss the bullying issue only to sweep it under the rug! Furthermore complaints regarding these issues to the superintendent and school board members have historically fallen on deaf ears! Yes, they own accountability. Shameful!
Jack says
Once again, why is this a school staff and personnel issue?- The parents of the kids need to parent their kid. How about getting in contact with the other parents? Parents want all sorts of rights until it is time to actually be a parent. If your child is getting bullied – find out who the child is and call/visit/textthe parent. Solve the probl;em like and adult and stop begging and then trashing the schools to do your job.
Dave says
I say punish the parents as well. It all starts at home.
Pete says
Many of these comments sound like they are coming from people that don’t have kids, or at least, had kids in this millennium. Kids are emotional raw nerves learning how to cope with this world. They say and do ridiculous things. This girl did not have access to a gun, she was just pissed off, and mouthing off. That doesn’t make it all fine and dandy, but it sounds like it was nothing more than someone with a whole bunch of hormones rushing through them. Now she is facing a felony… That’s some BS. Kids have always been like this, only there wasn’t a proverbial paper trail of their threats with which to punish them for.
Doug says
Everyone crying from the rooftops to string up this girl or her parents know good and well that they can name 5 kids who talked like that all the time back when we were kids.
She should be punished appropriately, but destroying her whole life by acting like she’s a school shooter is overboard.
Evil won says
I’m sure republicons want her tried as an adult for her felonies. Girls don’t get to speak out haha they can’t even control their own bodies. Trump likes em young like his buddy Epstein so keep her way from the republican predators and their supporters.