12-Year-Old Arrested After Threatening To Shoot 5 Classmates

TARPON SPRINGS, FL — Tarpon Springs Police detectives arrested a 12-year-old boy who threatened to shoot five classmates with an AR-15 rifle.

On Friday, detectives charged a Tarpon Springs Middle School seventh-grader with making a false report concerning the use of a firearm, a second-degree felony.

Detectives responded to the school after an assistant principal notified the school resource officer that several students approached school staff, saying they heard the 12-year-old talking about a list of five students he wanted to shoot at the school. The boy said he had a plan to use an AR-15 rifle to go to his classroom and then the cafeteria to find and shoot the students on his list.

When interviewed, the seventh-grader told detectives he was not serious about having a list and that his statements were "just a joke."

Detectives said the 12-year-old did not have access to any firearms.