Florida fifth grader arrested, charged with threatening a mass taking pictures, police say

A fifth grade pupil in Florida was arrested over the weekend and charged with sending a textual content message threatening to carry out a mass shooting, authorities said.

In an announcement Saturday, the Lee County Sheriff’s Office mentioned it had realized earlier that day of a "threatening text message" sent by a pupil at an elementary school.

It said its local college threat enforcement workforce was instantly notified and began investigating. The ten-year-old boy was interviewed and charged later with "making a written menace to conduct a mass shooting," the sheriff's office stated.

In video shared by authorities, the boy can be seen being led right into a police vehicle.

“This pupil’s habits is sickening, especially after the latest tragedy in Uvalde, Texas,” Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno mentioned in a press release, noting that the threat came just days after the deadly faculty capturing at Robb Elementary College left 19 college students and two lecturers dead.

“Proper now isn't the time to behave like a bit of delinquent. It’s not funny,” he mentioned. “This little one made a pretend risk, and now he’s experiencing actual consequences.”

Marceno said his group “didn’t hesitate one second...NOT ONE SECOND,” to investigate the incident.

The comment got here as authorities in Uvalde face mounting criticism over their response to the Might 24 college capturing after it came to light that they waited roughly an hour for backup as an alternative of immediately shifting in on the gunman.

Chantal Da Silva is a breaking information editor for NBC Information Digital based in London.