Drastic measure US sheriff posts video of eleven-year-old in handcuffs
Fed up with threats of alleged school massacres, a sheriff in Florida is cracking down: He's putting underage offenders on public display.
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- A sheriff in Florida is publishing photos and names of underage offenders to counter threats of school massacres.
- An 11-year-old was arrested and publicly paraded.
- In view of a wave of 207 threats since January, the sheriff is calling on parents to educate their children better in order to prevent further incidents.
A sheriff in the US state of Florida is taking drastic action against increasing threats of alleged school massacres in his district. Mike Chitwood, the sheriff of Volusia County, announced that he would publish the photos and names of underage offenders on social media as a deterrent. "Parents, if you don't educate your children, I will start educating them," he warned.
His words were soon followed by action, as the 60-year-old showed on various online platforms on Monday (local time): he had an eleven-year-old arrested who had threatened a massacre at a school and published a video showing the boy being led away in handcuffs.
He can also be seen being handcuffed before being locked in an empty cell. The sheriff's office also posted the police photo of the pupil and his name.
Threat as a serious crime
The eleven-year-old said it was just a joke, Chitwood said. Nevertheless, the threat constituted a serious crime. The boy had boastfully displayed weapons in a video chat and wrote down the names of people he said he wanted to kill on a list.
During a search of his room, police officers seized a large quantity of airsoft guns and pistols as well as fake ammunition, knives, swords and other weapons. Airsoft weapons look very similar to real firearms. However, it is not metal projectiles that come out of their barrels, but plastic bullets.
The crackdown has a serious background. Last Friday alone, the police in the district received 54 reports of threatened school massacres. Although they all turned out to be faked, investigating them cost around 24,000 dollars (around 20,300 francs). There have been 207 threats since January, according to local media reports.
"Parents, do your job"
If he finds out that the parents knew what was going on but did nothing about it, he will also publicly confront them, the sheriff said at an event on Friday. "So parents, do your job: don't let Sheriff Chitwood educate your children. This is absolutely ridiculous," he added.
In the USA, shooting rampages and fatal gun incidents at schools occur again and again. Just two weeks ago, police arrested a 14-year-old who had shot four people and injured several others at a school in the US state of Georgia. Firearms are readily available in the USA and are in circulation on a large scale.
dpa