rustythedog/iStock(DAYTONA BEACH, Fla.) — A 15-year-old student was arrested in Central Florida on Friday after authorities said he made an online threat to shoot up his school.
The unnamed teenager, who attends Seabreeze High School in Daytona Beach, allegedly posted a comment on a video game chat platform on Thursday using a fake name, vowing to bring his father’s M15 assault rifle to school and kill seven people “at a minimum,” according to a statement from the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office.
The school’s principal did not immediately respond to ABC News’ request for comment Tuesday morning.
The comment was reported to the FBI, which contacted the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office. The teen allegedly admitted to posting the comment but insisted it was just a joke.
“Joke or not, these types of comments are felonies under the law,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement Monday. “After the mass violence we’ve seen in Florida and across the country, law enforcement officers have a responsibility to investigate and charge those who choose to make these types of threatening statements.”
Body-camera footage released by the sheriff’s office shows the moment deputies arrived at the teen’s home on Friday morning and handcuffed him. His mother can be heard telling deputies that she does own a gun and understands threats cannot be taken lightly.
“But,” she says, “he’s just a little kid playing a video game.”
A Seabreeze HS student was arrested after in a video game chat:
“I Dalton Barnhart vow to bring my fathers m15 to school and kill 7 people at a minimum”
The name was fake, and the young man responsible for the comment insisted it was a joke.https://t.co/lRlZaUSE3E
— Volusia Sheriff (@VolusiaSheriff) August 19, 2019
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