Florida teens have been charged with felonies after faking an active shooting in their high school.
The teenage students pulled “a cruel prank” a day after a graffiti threat was found on a bathroom stall at Mainland High School, the Daytona Beach Police Department said in a statement.
Authorities determined on 8 September that no threat existed but decided to keep additional law enforcement presence as a precaution. However, on 9 September, a group of female students approached a school administrator and told them that “someone had a gun.”
The group was allegedly in collaboration with a male student who waited until the complaint was made to the administrator and then rushed out of the building. His actions “created a panic,” police said, and prompted other students to run in the same direction fearing there was a legitimate threat.
After reviewing surveillance footage, authorities determined that the female students had been laughing and smiling just moments before making the false report. The juvenile group faces expulsion and could be charged with making a false report concerning the use of firearms in a violent manner, a second-degree felony.
Volusia County Schools communications director Angel Gomez said that at least 11 students are being questioned by authorities, Spectrum News reported.
“I hate to call it a prank, because I think it goes beyond a prank,” Mr Gomez said.
“This entire incident appears to have been a cruel prank by several students that has now gotten out of control due to internet trolls, miss-informed people and in some cases, people that are not even in Florida, or have kids that go to school at Mainland,” Daytona Beach police said in a statement on Sunday.
“Despite this being a false alarm, we will increase our law enforcement presence at the school on Monday to ensure that everything goes smoothly.”
According to the department, surveillance video of the incident does not show anyone holding a gun or making threats. The students have reportedly changed their account of the events several times, sometimes implying that they saw a person holding a gun and at times saying “they just heard there was one”.
Police asked the public to be mindful of the information shared online about the incident and to refrain from fueling conspiracy theories about a shooting that didn’t happen.
