13-year-old charged with threatening to shoot teachers at Hernando County school

WEEKI WACHEE, Fla. (WFLA) — A 13-year-old student was charged Monday with threatening to shoot teachers at Winding Waters K-8 school in Weeki Wachee, according to the Hernando County Sheriff’s Office.

Deputies were alerted to the threats on Saturday by a student’s parent. The student reported they were on a FaceTime call with two classmates who were playing with what appeared to be a real gun, and threatening to shoot several teachers, according to the sheriff’s office.

The two classmates told the student not to show up at school Monday because they would carry out the shooting, according to the sheriff’s office. A threatening statement was allegedly also posted to social media.

Deputies made contact with the first classmate on the call, the 13-year-old student, who allegedly admitted to making the threats, but only because they were threatened first, according to deputies.

White had possession of a plastic BB gun that looked like a handgun, however, he said the second classmate was the one who made the threats, deputies said. The second classmate denied that any threats were made, and no weapons were found at that student’s home.

Both students had to meet with school administrators Monday morning, and the 13-year-old was charged with intimidation/sending written threat to conduct a mass shooting, according to the sheriff’s office.

The second classmate on the FaceTime call has not been charged, deputies said.

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