ORMOND BEACH, Fla. – Just days into the new school year, a 16-year-old boy was arrested in Volusia County on allegations of making a school shooting threat.
The Volusia Sheriff’s Office said the teen, who is home-schooled in Ormond Beach, posted an Instagram photo on Thursday of a handgun with an extended magazine inside a bookbag and a location tag referencing Mainland High School in Daytona Beach.
Volusia County Schools said Mainland High was “in a hold, not a lockdown, while law enforcement investigated a Fortify Florida tip about a possible social media threat.”
“The post led to fear on campus, disruption of school, and an immediate investigation by our Juvenile Behavioral Threat Assessment Unit,” Volusia deputies said in a post on X.
No injuries were reported.
The teen initially told detectives that his account was hacked but later admitted he “made a mistake,” according to the sheriff’s office.
He faces a charge of making an electronic threat to conduct a mass shooting.
News 6 is not naming or showing the teen due to his age and the nature of the threat.
[VIDEO BELOW: How detectives track school threats in Fla.]