A 12-year-old student on the Treasure Coast is accused of sending threatening messages on social media to a classmate and the school.Police in Port St. Lucie said both the suspect and the victim attended the same school and apparently had a falling out over the summer, possibly over a girl. According to an arrest affidavit, the suspect created an Instagram account to spread rumors about the victim as well as other school-related rumors at St. Lucie West K-8 school.”Detectives got involved at that point, there were threats of shooting a child, knowing where the child lived, and that also included threats of shooting the child at the school,” Master Sergeant Dominick Mestiti.The affidavit also listed direct quotes from screenshot messages.”AK 47 ar and everything” “Know you hear lockdown and run] “Don’t hide”.Police said the suspect reportedly sent a photo from the internet of a male with a ski mask holding a firearm with an extended magazine. “So, these photos were not taken by our suspect; they were pulled off the internet by our suspect and sent to our victim along with along with written threats to shoot him and shoot up the school,” Mestiti said.Your neighborhood: Local coverage from WPBF 25 NewsMestiti said when investigators interviewed the suspect, he said he did this as a prank and admitted he went too far and was very apologetic.The affidavit states the suspect denied having access to firearms and began crying and seemed remorseful for what he had done. “The internet can be a good thing, you can reach out to the entire world and learn about the entire world just from the internet,” Mestiti said. “But at the same time, you are allowing that entire world into your home and your child is allowing who knows what and God knows what into their minds.”Get the latest news updates with the WPBF 25 News app. You can download it here.The St. Lucie County School District released this statement, which reads: “Student safety is our highest priority. Any threat made against our schools—regardless of intent—is treated with the utmost seriousness.” The suspect was arrested. He’s facing a charge of electronic threats to kill or injure. Top Headlines:Tracking widespread downpours and flooding rain across South Florida
PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. —
A 12-year-old student on the Treasure Coast is accused of sending threatening messages on social media to a classmate and the school.
Police in Port St. Lucie said both the suspect and the victim attended the same school and apparently had a falling out over the summer, possibly over a girl.
According to an arrest affidavit, the suspect created an Instagram account to spread rumors about the victim as well as other school-related rumors at St. Lucie West K-8 school.
“Detectives got involved at that point, there were threats of shooting a child, knowing where the child lived, and that also included threats of shooting the child at the school,” Master Sergeant Dominick Mestiti.
The affidavit also listed direct quotes from screenshot messages.
“AK 47 ar and everything”
“Know you hear lockdown and run]
“Don’t hide”.
Police said the suspect reportedly sent a photo from the internet of a male with a ski mask holding a firearm with an extended magazine.
“So, these photos were not taken by our suspect; they were pulled off the internet by our suspect and sent to our victim along with along with written threats to shoot him and shoot up the school,” Mestiti said.
Your neighborhood: Local coverage from WPBF 25 News
Mestiti said when investigators interviewed the suspect, he said he did this as a prank and admitted he went too far and was very apologetic.
The affidavit states the suspect denied having access to firearms and began crying and seemed remorseful for what he had done.
“The internet can be a good thing, you can reach out to the entire world and learn about the entire world just from the internet,” Mestiti said. “But at the same time, you are allowing that entire world into your home and your child is allowing who knows what and God knows what into their minds.”
Get the latest news updates with the WPBF 25 News app. You can download it here.
The St. Lucie County School District released this statement, which reads:
“Student safety is our highest priority. Any threat made against our schools—regardless of intent—is treated with the utmost seriousness.”
The suspect was arrested. He’s facing a charge of electronic threats to kill or injure.
Top Headlines:
Tracking widespread downpours and flooding rain across South Florida