“My heart sank”: 11-year-old girl from St. Lucie County threatened to carry out a school shooting

An 11-year-old girl was arrested after threatening to carry out a school shooting on social media, according to the St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office.

The sheriff’s office said on its Facebook page around 1:30 p.m. Wednesday that the girl, who is in sixth grade at Southern Oaks Middle School (5500 Northeast St. James Drive in Port St. Lucie), was arrested earlier in the day for posting a threat on Instagram that “suggested a school shooting.”

WPTV learned that the school was not locked down.

Response from schools and law enforcement

School staff and deputies immediately investigated the incident, identified the 11-year-old girl, searched her, and concluded that the threat was not credible.

“However, your actions caused panic and threats like this are against the law,” the sheriff’s office wrote on Facebook.

In a statement, Sheriff Keith Pearson said the girl had been arrested and faced “severe disciplinary consequences, including expulsion from school.”

“This finding underscores the strong working relationship between the school district, staff, students and our deputies who are on every school campus to ensure the safety of our students,” the sheriff’s office said on Facebook. “We take every threat, whether in person or online, seriously. The message is simple: If you see something, say something.”

Sheriff Pearson spoke with WPTV reporter Zitlali Solache about the girl’s arrest and her contribution.

“Eventually, the rumor was that there was going to be a shooting at Southern Oaks Middle School,” Pearson explained. “We were able to very quickly identify the youth, isolate them, control them and make sure there were no weapons on school grounds, but that was not the case.”

In a message to parents and guardians around 11:30 a.m. Wednesday, Southern Oaks Middle School Principal Henry Sanabria thanked students who “saw something and said something,” adding that the Instagram post posed “a danger to our school.”

Here is the full message from Sanabria:

“Parents and guardians of Southern Oaks Middle School,

This is Rector Sanabria with an important message.

First, let me thank the students who “saw something and said something.” Based on their reports, our law enforcement officers investigated a social media post that threatened harm to our school. Working with our law enforcement partners, school administrators were able to identify the source of the social media post. The student responsible for the post will be held accountable, which may result in expulsion and arrest.

Safety is our top priority and we will continue to closely monitor our campus. It is up to all of us to immediately report any concerns or suspicious activity to law enforcement, administration, or teachers.

Parents, please take this opportunity to talk to your children about responsible use of social media. Together we can create a safe environment where we can focus on teaching and learning.”

Parents react

“My heart sank. Just thinking about the shooting that just happened, it’s like something like that could happen right now at my child’s school,” Lauren Stevens, mother of a sixth-grader at Southern Oaks Middle School, told WPTV.

She said it was “nothing surprising because I watch all the social media that my kids are trying to use and right now it’s scary.”

“Unfortunately, I mean, someone should have talked to her when she was 11,” said mother Lisa Aiello. “You just don’t joke about things like that.”

Aiello is relieved about the false alarm, but says parents need to intervene.

“I always feel like it starts at home with the parents,” Aiello said. “I think we should always educate our children about what’s going on. Especially in today’s society. It’s a scary place.”

A spokeswoman for St. Lucie Public Schools said the school board will recommend expulsion of the girl. She now faces a second-degree felony charge.

Under Florida law, it is a second-degree felony to “make written or electronic threats to commit murder, assault, or mass shooting.” Read the law here.

Students, parents, school employees and other community members are urged to report suspicious activity related to local schools using the free Fortify Florida app.

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