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

A fifth grade scholar in Florida was arrested over the weekend and charged with sending a textual content message threatening to carry out a mass taking pictures, authorities said.

In a statement Saturday, the Lee County Sheriff’s Workplace mentioned it had learned earlier that day of a "threatening textual content message" despatched by a scholar at an elementary faculty.

It said its local school threat enforcement crew 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 capturing," the sheriff's workplace stated.

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

“This scholar’s behavior is sickening, especially after the latest tragedy in Uvalde, Texas,” Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno stated in a statement, noting that the threat got here just days after the lethal college shooting at Robb Elementary School left 19 college students and two teachers dead.

“Proper now isn't the time to behave like a little delinquent. It’s not humorous,” he mentioned. “This child made a pretend threat, and now he’s experiencing actual penalties.”

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

The comment came as authorities in Uvalde face mounting criticism over their response to the Might 24 faculty shooting after it got here to mild that they waited roughly an hour for backup as an alternative of instantly transferring in on the gunman.

Chantal Da Silva is a breaking information editor for NBC News Digital primarily based in London.