Florida fifth grader arrested, charged with threatening a mass capturing, police say

A fifth grade student in Florida was arrested over the weekend and charged with sending a text message threatening to carry out a mass capturing, authorities stated.

In a statement Saturday, the Lee County Sheriff’s Office said it had learned earlier that day of a "threatening textual content message" despatched by a pupil at an elementary school.

It stated its native college menace enforcement team was instantly notified and began investigating. The 10-year-old boy was interviewed and charged later with "making a written threat to conduct a mass shooting," the sheriff's office said.

In video shared by authorities, the boy may be seen being led into a police automobile.

“This student’s conduct is sickening, especially after the recent tragedy in Uvalde, Texas,” Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno mentioned in an announcement, noting that the menace got here just days after the lethal school shooting at Robb Elementary Faculty left 19 college students and two academics lifeless.

“Right now shouldn't be the time to behave like a little bit delinquent. It’s not funny,” he mentioned. “This child made a faux menace, and now he’s experiencing real penalties.”

Marceno said his team “didn’t hesitate one second...NOT ONE SECOND,” to investigate the incident.

The comment got here as authorities in Uvalde face mounting criticism over their response to the Could 24 college shooting after it got here to gentle that they waited roughly an hour for backup as an alternative of immediately transferring in on the gunman.

Chantal Da Silva is a breaking news editor for NBC Information Digital primarily based in London.