The Osceola County Sheriff’s Office is touting the use of an app that led to a tip that ultimately may have thwarted school gun violence.
Law enforcement announced Tuesday night a 17-year-old student was arrested after allegedly threatening to “shoot up a school” and being found with a stolen gun at his home. The currently unnamed juvenile is charged with grand theft of a firearm, possession of a firearm by a minor, possession of under 20 grams of marijuana, possession of alcohol by a person under 21, and possession of drug paraphernalia. The teen is currently held without bond.
A tip received through FortifyFL, a suspicious activity reporting tool that allows users to instantly relay information to appropriate law enforcement agencies and school officials, prompted law enforcement to notify a Poinciana High School resource officer.
In this case, The SRO went to the juvenile’s address and immediately contacted the juvenile and the juvenile’s mother. When deputies confronted the juvenile about the incident, he became very nervous and reportedly briefly fainted. Deputies requested permission to do a safety inspection of her residence to make sure there were no firearms inside the home accessible to the juvenile. The mother agreed. During the search they found a clear bottle labeled "Crown Royal Regal Apple", a black Glock 19, and a 34-round extended magazine inside his school backpack. A search of the firearm’s serial number revealed it was reported as stolen. Marijuana, drug paraphernalia and additional bullets were also discovered in the juvenile’s bedroom.
When asked where he obtained the firearm, the juvenile said he found the gun in Orlando and admitted that he did not own the firearm.
“An unimaginable tragedy was prevented in this case thanks to the Fortify FL tip,” the Sheriff’s Office said a Tuesday release. “(The Sheriff's Office) strongly encourages the public to report any indications of threats to school safety so we can continue to prevent these issues in the future.”
State officials tout FortifyFL as a lifesaving, crime prevention tool.
Schools are safer when we all work together to identify potential threats and report them to law enforcement,” Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody said. “I want to thank the thousands of students, teachers and faculty already joining our mission to protect Florida schools, and ask that anyone who has not yet downloaded the Fortify Florida app, to please take a minute to do this simple task. Downloading the app and using it to file an anonymous tip could save a life.
