There is an online site called Fortify Florida, the concept of which is a lot like CrimeStoppers, engendering the “See Something, Say Something” credo. Fortify Florida “is a suspicious activity reporting tool that allows you to instantly relay information to appropriate law enforcement agencies and school officials” and it is bustling.
The e-reporting app has been deluged lately, resulting in schools being swarmed with more cops beyond the assigned SROs (school resource officers)!
Per the FortifyFL app, “students can provide a description of the threat, share pics and videos and optionally submit their contact information.”
On Friday the 13th of September 2024, vast law enforcement resources were mobilized in response to several posts to the Fortify Florida app.
Per Volusia County (Orlando area) Sheriff Mike Chitwood, his agency and its deputies/public safety dispatchers were a busy beehive due to online tips alleging potential violence and mayhem at schools in their jurisdiction:
“Today is September 13 and we are not having a good day in Volusia County. So far, 54 tips have come into Fortify Florida talking about school shootings. All of them have been deemed bogus.
“We have two people in custody. We have another person who we are investigating and probably will take into custody.
“I can’t say this any clearer. You don’t stand up on an airplane and yell Hijack! You don’t walk into a movie theatre and yell Fire! And you don’t get online and post that you’re going to shoot up a school.
“It’s going to get your a$$ sent to jail.”
What Sheriff Chitwood is referring to is a massive undertaking his deputies took on by utilizing tons of police resources and sifting through every inch of several schools targeted with threats made online, ultimately arresting an 11-year-old whose diabolical plot was accompanied by an arsenal of firepower and edged weapons.
(Photo courtesy of the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office.)
An 11-year-old with quite a collection. This poses many questions…with presumptive answers.
Sheriff Chitwood continued foreboding, particularly pinning the tail on the parents of kids hatching blueprints for destruction at schools and having the means to carry out their
Columbine:
“And now, for you parents out there. Today’s hoax cost around $21,000. There are two people in custody. We’re coming after you. And starting Monday [September 16, 2024], your little cherub…we’re going to start publishing his face and doing perp walks with him, when we take him into custody.
“And then we’re going to show pictures of you, the parents. Because you don’t want to raise your kid, Sheriff Chitwood is going to raise them. You think it’s a joke, you’re going to find your a$$ in handcuffs and you’re going to find you’re a$$ being paraded out in front of the news media behind me, and your parents are going to be filmed as they come to pick you up.
“So, parents, get your kids in line or your checkbook’s going to hurt and your pride is going to hurt. I promise.”
True to his word, early Monday (September 16, 2024), the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office website posted the arrest/mugshot of an 11-year-old and a wide assortment of associated weaponry.
The arrested youngster’s image and the weapons-covered tabletop were published along with words denoting the middle-school student’s “list of names and targets,” which the kid claimed “was all a joke.”
The sheriff is not amused, at all…
“P.S. I can and will release the names and photos of juveniles who are committing these felonies, threatening our students, disrupting our schools, and consuming law enforcement resources. You can expect a video coming up next.”
The Volusia sheriff cited that Florida statutorily permits the cost of law enforcement resources used to investigate such crimes can be billed to the parents of the juvenile offenders.
Florida’s Voice News published a piece titled, “Volusia sheriff blasts parents of children who make threats to schools, says cost is massive,” quoting Volusia’s top lawman as saying, “We’re going to have a poster out. I’m going to show you every kid that’s been arrested and where they go to school, and then from there on out, we’re going to publicly shame them and their parents.”
Sheriff Chitwood’s remarks drew plenty of support. His stance also ignited ire among people who accused him of “shaming” and failing to consider the root causes for youngsters acting out twistedly. (Comments responding to Sheriff Chitwood’s statement can be read here.)
Where do you stand with this ultimatum? Too harsh? Too late?
Although it may be common for law enforcement leaders to peck at the calculator keys, it is uncommon to publicize the costs of a police response made possible by taxpayer dollars. It is something legacy media won’t necessarily solicit. Perhaps that is why police figureheads put it out there: So citizens have a wider understanding of public safety operations and the expenses attributable to those doing dirty deeds.
Heck, as a cop I only knew the annual police budget our city council granted every October (fiscal year). Exceptionally, anytime our agency purchased new police cruisers, I’d learn the total cost (including all electronics and equipment such as prisoner walls, shotgun mounts, etc.
Given the frequency of school issues engendering heavy police responses, it may become a thing whereby law enforcement officials itemize expenses for a callout and put the overall tab in someone’s lap. Hitting them in the pockets and publicizing monetary consequences may be a deterrent.
(Photo courtesy of the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office.)
Keeping that in mind, we segue to another school-related threat that also transpired on Friday the 13th on which another Fortify Florida post was received, this one directing Hillsborough County (Tampa Bay) law enforcement to launch a massive response to a high school.
At dawn of September 13, 2024, Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office deputies were “investigating a school threat that forced Newsome High School into a lockout for several hours. On Friday, September 13, 2024, at approximately 8:45 a.m., a threat claiming to shoot a teacher and bring a bomb to the campus was posted on Fortify Florida.”
According to an HCSO spokesperson, after an exhaustive search by scores of deputies, “no weapon or credible threat was found.”
Like Sheriff Chitwood in Volusia County, Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister is a law enforcement leader known for speaking at podiums laden with media mics.
Sheriff Chronister praised parents and deputies alike for the coordinated response at Newsome HS and alluded to an “ongoing investigation” at the outset on Friday the 13th, delineating the plan for an orderly release of students as well as increased law enforcement presence Monday morning when students, teachers, and staff return.
This is what it looked like on Monday, September 16, after the weekend:
(Photo courtesy of the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office.)
As with Sheriff Chitwood laying it out there, forewarning those who could be held responsible for their child’s ideations of either shooting up a school or obliterating one with a bomb via threats, comments from parents and others in Hillsborough County and beyond were mixed: Some supported the gargantuan response while others opined there are other ways to address the fester of school-related threats.
This is a time to remind readers that most of Florida’s educational institutions have SROs assigned.
Hillsborough County also employs uniformed, armed security officers (many of whom are retired LEOs) whose fully marked patrol cars resemble police cruisers and are often front-and-center in campus driveways for all to see.
As of this writing, the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office announced a $1,000. reward for any tips leading to the identification and arrest of the perpetrator who, like a SWATting call/hoax, influenced a large-scale police response that endangered many lives, with real or perceived destruction impacting everyone.
Per Sheriff Chronister: “Parents, talk to your children, monitor their social media, and report anything suspicious. Keeping our students safe is our top priority.”
When parents are parenting, effectively addressing the juvenile “joke” about shooting up schools and people in them, the deputies at the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office share with us what it looks like:
“The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office was contacted by [administrators at Buddy Taylor Middle School] Monday morning [September 16] about the possible threat [of a student shooting up the school]. Deputies discovered 13-year-old Deondra Gaskins made a post on social media Sunday that read, ‘12:05 be ready to die if you go to BTMS’ with knife and gun emojis.”
According to a sheriff’s office spokesperson, “Gaskin’s mother was made aware of the post [over the weekend] and, knowing the seriousness of the matter, made her daughter delete the post. Monday morning, she brought her daughter to school to report what she had posted the day before” .
“Gaskins told deputies she and a friend were talking about school shootings, and stated she did not think the post was that serious and had no intentions to shoot anyone at school. The friend also admitted to the conversation and told deputies they were joking around on the phone.”
Credit to the parent in this case for interceding for the good of all and holding her offspring responsible. The teen was charged with Written/Electronic Threat Mass Shooting/Terrorism Act and transported by deputies to the Department of Juvenile Justice.
Like others among Florida’s 67 counties, Flagler County Schools Superintendent LaShakia Moore reiterated policies and partnerships with police:
“We are aware of this arrest of a student making threats to the safety of the school. We want to make it clear that such behavior is never a joke. Anyone who threatens the welfare of our children and our employees will be met with consequences. We work closely with the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office to ensure a swift and appropriate response to any threat, and we encourage all students and families to understand the gravity of these actions. Our priority remains the safety of our students, faculty, and staff.”
As we conclude, I can’t help thinking about the buffoonery exhibited by anti-police sorts who vehemently asserted that LEOs have no place in educational settings. You?
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