A Florida man was busted Sunday after allegedly posting on social media pictures of himself with guns and the caption, “Hey Siri, directions to the nearest school” as part of a “sick joke,” police said.
Corey Anderson, 18, was charged with making a written or electronic threat to conduct a mass shooting or act of terrorism after an investigation by the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office. The image he posted showed him with a handgun, rifle and tactical vest.
“This type of threat is unacceptable,” Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister. “This man intentionally instilled fear into our community as a sick joke, but be warned, this is no laughing matter.
“We will do everything within our power to apprehend, and pursue charges on those who make school-based threats.” Chronister said. “Protecting students is our greatest priority. We take school threats very seriously, if you see something suspicious, please contact us immediately.”
Police learned of the harebrained stunt when they received a tip. They verified that the image was accessible online and arrested Anderson at a home in Lutz. Police later determined that the handgun and rifle were airsoft guns, the Sheriff’s Office said in a statement.
Anderson was released on $7,500 bond.
The nation is on a knife’s edge in the wake of two horrific mass shootings, both carried out by 18-year-old men. On May 14, a man police have described as a white supremacist killed 10 and wounded three in a shooting at a Buffalo market. Ten days later, a man stormed an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, and killed 19 children and two teachers.
On Saturday, a 10-year-old Fort Myers boy was arrested after making a school threat, sheriff’s officials said.
“This student’s behavior is sickening, especially after the recent tragedy in Uvalde, Texas,” Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno said in a social media post.
Florida law enforcement officials have warned that mass shooters in the Sunshine State will be dispatched with extreme prejudice.
“This is the last thing you’ll see before we put a bullet through your head if you’re trying to hurt our children,” Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said at a weekend news conference, while holding a picture of two police officers carrying firearms. “We are going to shoot you graveyard dead if you come onto a campus, with a gun, threatening our children or shooting at us.”
Source: Dailywire
