A 12-year-old girl was arrested Monday night after allegedly making threats on social media to several Broward County Public Schools.
Police said the girl is a student who posted threats to schools in Lauderdale Lakes, Lauderhill, Fort Lauderdale and Sunrise.
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She is from Lauderill, and now faces charges of making written threats to kill/conduct a mass shooting and unlawful use of a two-way communication device.
"When confronted with the information by detectives, the student confessed to making the threats and said she intended them as a joke. She said she did not intend to carry out the threat and that she had already deleted the account," Broward Sheriff's Office officials said in a statement.
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Lauderhill 6-12 confirmed that their school had received a noncredible threat on Monday night.
"Law enforcement immediately responded and was able to locate the author of the social media post. The individual responsible is now facing criminal charges as well as strict punishment as outlined in the Student Code of Conduct," the school said in a statement provided to NBC6 by BCPS.
The Broward Sheriff's Office reminded the public that making school threats is no joke. Under Florida law, whether it is said aloud, written in text, or posted on social media, an individual can be charged with a felony for written threats to kill, do bodily injury, or conduct a mass shooting.
Broward Schools Superintendent Dr. Howard Hepburn also confirmed the arrest at a school board meeting on Tuesday.
"Let me be very clear: every single threat whether made in person or online is taken seriously and addressed with the utmost urgency," Hepburn said. "Unfortunately, we have already witnessed the devastating consequences for four students who have made these poor decisions and irreversibly altered the course of their lives, and we just had a recent arrest also late last night for additional threats."
The arrest on Monday night follows an incident in which a 14-year-old girl was arrested in connection with social media posts that contained threats against some schools across Broward County, according to the Broward Sheriff's Office.
Investigators said the threats were made on Instagram stories over the weekend. One post included a list of targeted schools while other posts contained threats of a school shooting or other violence, according to a BSO news release on Sunday.
On Saturday evening, detectives were able to trace the threats back to a 14-year-old girl in Lauderdale Lakes, who later confessed to making the threats when confronted, but claimed it was all a joke, authorities said.
Other threats to South Florida schools were made over social media on Friday.
"These threats not only disrupt the educational environment but also undo trauma to our students, staff and families," Hepburn said. "Every minute we spend responding to these situations is time diverted from our primary mission of educating and safeguarding our students. To our students I cannot stress enough the importance of being mindful before you post or speak."
