A 12-year-old male student at Holly Hill K-8 School was arrested late Friday after a teacher and several students told a school resource deputy the student had made threats while in class earlier in the day, according to the Volusia County Sheriff's Office.
Laura Williams, Sheriff's Office spokeswoman, said in a news release that the student stated he was starting a gang and was going to shoot someone, according to witness statements. He also reportedly said he knew where drugs were located.
Williams said that based on numerous witness statements from other students interviewed, the boy was charged with threatening to discharge a destructive device, a felony. He was transported to the Department of Juvenile Justice.
The student is the 23rd charged by the Volusia Sheriff's Office for making a school threat involving weapons since the Feb. 14 massacre at a high school in Parkland.
Since then, school officials and Sheriff Mike Chitwood have stated they have zero tolerance for anyone making false reports or threats at school or on social media, the news release said. Law enforcement officers will investigate every suspicious incident to keep everyone at school safe, however.
Chitwood has also said families of students charged with making school threats will be responsible for paying the cost of investigating the threats, which could be more than $1,000 per case.