Just nine days into the new school year, a 14-year-old student at Flagler Palm Coast High School was arrested on a felony charge of making written threats to kill. The boy did so in voice and text exchanges with another boy, 13, over Instagram on Thursday. Both were at home. No threats were directed toward any school.
Last school year, schools across the district contended with a dozen incidents, most of them leading to arrests, involving students making threats or bringing a weapon to school. But until Thursda in this fledgling school year, the gravest incident at a school involved the citation of a 14-year-old girl at FPC over a vaping pen containing marijuana oil. The student had allegedly been vaping in a school bathroom. In her case, a civil citation was issued.
Thursday’s incident again prompted the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office to issue an advisory to parents to “become more involved in what their children are doing online.” The agency issued a chart of 23 apps “parents should know about.” (See below.)
The mother of the 13-year-old at the receiving end of the alleged threats contacted law enforcement after she heard parts of the conversation between her son and the 14 year old, as her son had it on speaker phone. She was also able to capture some of the texts before her son blocked the other boy.
The parent reported hearing the alleged assailant tell her son that he was going to beat him up because of his looks, and kill him. His messages included texts such as “U dying tmr,” “For sure” and “I’m done talking from this point on… Just know ur gonna die tomorrow.” The boy at the receiving end tried reason: “I could understand you wanting to fight me but,” he wrote in one text, continuing in another, “Why kill me… That’s a little far.” The 14 year old also had an exchange with a friend of the 13 year old, telling him: “Tell him to be prepared to be hospitalized tomorrow…” “Chill no your not,” the friend wrote him, apparently to no effect.
Deputies investigated based on the screen names and the screen shots the parent emailed them and located the 14 year old at an R-Section address in Palm Coast. The boy’s parents invited deputies into the house and both parents and the child spoke with deputies in the kitchen.
The boy, according to his arrest report, immediately told the deputies he knew why they were there, and said it had to do with an argument he got into on Instagram. He confirmed that his Instagram name was the one in deputies’ hands, and said he had gotten into an argument because he has a short temper, but initially denied making threats to kill. When confronted with images of the messages, the boy conceded that he’d written them, “but it was out of anger,” he told deputies.
The boy was placed under arrest, processed at the Flagler County jail, turned over to the Department of Juvenile Justice in Daytona Beach, which then turned the boy over to his parents.
“We take all threats seriously and if you make a threat – whether verbally, in writing, or through social media – it will be investigated and you will be arrested,” Sheriff Rick Staly was quoted as saying in a release that echoed similar statements repeated last year. “Cell phones and social media are a part of every child’s life these days and it is more important than ever for parents to pay attention to what their children are doing online. Let them know that if they make the wrong choice, say, write or post threats, they will face serious consequences. Florida law is very strict and there is no discretion for law enforcement. We have a zero tolerance policy for threats in Flagler County.”
In effect, Thursday’s incident came to light because a parent was monitoring a child’s actions on social media.
The agency release suggested a few control applications such as Bark, Net Nanny, and Securly, available on both Android and Apple devices.
Apps Parents Should Know About:
Click to access SocialMediaApps-FCSO.pdf
Richard says
How times have changed! In my day, we played games outside with other neighborhood kids usually either Hide & Seek, Rock Paper Scissors, a modified version of Mumbley Peg, went flying kites (box or regular shape) in the local playground or played marbles to buildup your collection or pitching quarter’s if we had a few to make more money, flipping coins also, built forts out of scrap lumber, flew balsa wood gliders or made them out of paper, built & flew model airplanes with control wires, etc, etc, etc. Nowadays kids have their heads buried in video games or walking aimlessly with their heads buried in their smartphones not watching where they are headed while using apps to berate, badger and bully kids or even threaten to kill them. No wonder this country is so fucked up!
ASF says
Was The department of Children’s Services called? What kind of home supervision is this kid receiving (or, more to the point, not receiving?)
Mary Fusco says
Absolutely, well said. My kids never came inside. Today’s kids are handed an electronic device as soon as they are physically able to hold one. This becomes their life. No social interaction with anyone they can physically see. Only those on the internet, Violence is all they know. Worse of all, is that these brain dead parents actually believe it is always someone else’s fault. You are right about this country. It’s always easier to blame someone else rather than take responsibility for yourself. Sad.
Laurie says
Well said Richard, I agree!!
deb says
Maybe if we started to lock up parents of these “children” things might change, who knows.
FPC Granny says
Are you kidding me!!!! How many times I have told my ex-husband I wanted to “kill” him (and that to several other people at times)…as an example: ex not putting the cover on the garbage and the dog getting into it while we both were at work and of course I got home first and had to clean it up the mess….and of course I said I wanted to kill him when he got home…..yeah he is now an ex with good reason….I can’t count the times I told him I would kill him…if you did I would have spent my entire life in jail….most of the time it is just a saying!! Give these kids room to breath!!! You all when you were younger cruised, yes, not around grownups or your parents….we all did stupid stuff….also who as parents….years ago before the digital age read their daughter’s diary?….to get a handle on what was going on in your daughter’s life…I did!! I had 3 daughter’s and it was the only way I could guide them when they went threw the teenage years of not confiding in adults….BUT you sure did NOT let her know you read it!!! People today complain about the kids….well look at all you do-gooders what skills are you offering towards these kids in TODAY’s world….we are NOT in the 1940 world??? I feel we need to stop helicoptering these kids….I am not saying don’t parent…but heck pick your battles….teach them how to get along and problem solve!!! Don’t leave parenting to the schools or the Sheriff’s Office because I think they really are doing a crappy job of it!! Get involved with your kid’s world even if it means sitting down and learning the video game they are playing, join Twitter, Facebook ect. and be apart of their world!!
What?? says
Another example of how social media is wrecking lives. Wish these kids would wise up.
Mary Fusco says
@FPC Grany, sorry but if you have children it is your job to parent them and know what they are doing. No one else’s. It’s not a “do-gooder’s” job to offer skills and direction, it is a parent’s job. There are no battles to pick, you are responsible for your children until they reach 18, at which time, they’re on their own. I have 4 children and 5 grandchildren and they all knew from the time they were toddlers that there are consequences to their actions, both good and bad. Yes, I probably told them many times that I would “kill” them if they did something again. However, what I did not do is put it out on the internet. Half of the kids today are raising themselves and living in a fantasy world. Very sad that this is our future. Fortunately for me, mine are all grown, educated, raising families of their own and parenting them every step of the way.
FPC Granny says
@Mary Fusco I am so sorry if you misunderstood me….I am in total agreement with you…exactly what you said I was trying to relay! My point of “do-gooders” is people saying “well we did this in “my” time and we did that in “my” time….it is the “present” time….meaning you can’t be expecting kids to do what we did 50 years ago for entertainment or for the same ways of interacting as we did. My point again was we need to as adults/parents/grandparents get involved with today’s kids…if it means learning to play the video games the kids are playing on the internet, then let the kids teach you and play along with them ect ect ect. “be a part of their world” was my point! Again sorry if you miss-understood….:)
tomoko aran says
too many boomers in the comment section