FLAGLER COUNTY, Fla. – A 13-year-old boy was arrested in Daytona Beach after calling in a bomb threat to a Flagler middle school in what investigators believe is a copycat to a series of similar calls to other schools in the county, according to the sheriff’s office.
Sheriff Rick Staly said the boy was arrested Friday evening. News 6 is not naming or showing the boy.
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The sheriff said the boy was dared by a friend to make a threat against Buddy Taylor Middle School and the boy made the call because he didn’t want to be “a punk” about it.
The boy faces charges of making a false report concerning a bomb, tampering with evidence and unlawful use of a two-way communication device.
The phone call was made to Buddy Taylor Middle School’s front desk Friday morning, leading to lockdowns there and at nearby Wadsworth Elementary School which were shortly downgraded to a “secure” before deputies cleared the schools, allowing normal activities to resume within the hour, the sheriff’s office said on social media.
In a Friday night news conference, Staly encouraged the friend who made the dare to turn himself in.
“Go to your parents, tell them what you did and turn yourself in, because we will find you,” Staly said.
He added that the friend would face conspiracy charges related to the threat.
Friday marked the fourth day in a row the school had received a threatening call. The middle school on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday had been visited, searched and cleared by Flagler County deputies responding to similar threatening phone calls. The sheriff’s office has said that these are “swatting” calls, a rising trend nationwide where a caller makes fake reports that draw an onslaught of law enforcement and cause lockdowns.
Following the sheriff’s office’s response to the middle school’s campus on Thursday, Sheriff Rick Staly held a news conference to announce FDLE, the sheriff’s office’s Homeland Security Section and the FBI were now involved in tracking down the origin of the repeated “swatting” calls.
This morning, the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office responded to Buddy Taylor Middle School after the front desk received a suspicious call.
— Flagler County Sheriff’s Office (@FlaglerSheriff) May 17, 2024
BTMS and nearby Wadsworth Elementary School were initially placed in a LOCKDOWN and shortly downgraded to a SECURE, before being cleared to… pic.twitter.com/Qel8Pwocuz
In another update Friday, the sheriff’s office said on social media that at least five other Florida counties have recently received similar “swatting” calls.
At this time, there is no credible threat to Flagler County schools or planned school events. The safety and well-being of Flagler County residents and students is our highest priority. We will continue to take every threat seriously.
"An update on the investigation into threats made to Flagler County schools" | Flagler County Sheriff's Office | May 17, 2024 (exerpt)
Staly said he believes this threat was a copycat because it did match the other swatting calls.
“I guess what I would say is the modus operandi was different on this call,” he said.
Anyone with information about the calls is asked to contact the sheriff’s office at 386-313-4911 or via email at TIPS@flaglersheriff.com.
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