An 11 year old was arrested in the sunshine state after he allegedly threatened to kill class mates in explicit text messages. The Sheriff’s office of Flagler County arrested the student after he made threats of bodily injury and to kill over phone messages. The student was enrolled at Indian Trails Middle School. A parent went to law enforcement officials after their student showed the text messages to them. In truth, many young Americans today believe it to be a comical joke when discussing messages like this over text, but according to state law in many places across the country, it is not taken lightly. In a similar scenario, a student was arrested in Shreveport, Louisiana in April of 2023 after allegedly calling on another student to commit suicide over a social media message as well. The student attended Byrd High School and was charged with cyberbullying
This is not the first time such a scenario involving law enforcement and a member of a school community in Florida (either student or teacher) has occurred recently. In late summer, an educator was killed in an incident deemed a murder-suicide. Maria Cruz de la Cruz, aged 51, instructed mathematics at Doral Academy, a charter school near Miami which enrolled students from kindergarten to eighth grade. She had been employed at the academy for almost ten years at the time of her death. On September 1st at around 4:20 pm, she was found wounded inside a residence in Palmetto Estates. Another unnamed male victim was also shot by the perpetrator; his condition is unknown. De la Cruz was transported to the hospital following the incident, where she perished. Another female individual was inside the home when the attack occurred; miraculously, she was unharmed. Authorities have deemed the episode a “murder-suicide”, as the shooter was found dead at the scene, apparently from a bullet to the head. The gunman has not been named publicly.
