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

A fifth grade pupil in Florida was arrested over the weekend and charged with sending a text message threatening to hold out a mass shooting, authorities said.

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

It said its local school threat enforcement workforce was instantly notified and started investigating. The ten-year-old boy was interviewed and charged later with "making a written menace to conduct a mass capturing," the sheriff's workplace said.

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

“This pupil’s behavior is sickening, especially after the current tragedy in Uvalde, Texas,” Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno stated in a press release, noting that the risk came just days after the lethal college taking pictures at Robb Elementary School left 19 college students and two teachers dead.

“Right now just isn't the time to act like a bit delinquent. It’s not humorous,” he said. “This youngster made a faux menace, and now he’s experiencing actual consequences.”

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

The remark got here as authorities in Uvalde face mounting criticism over their response to the May 24 college capturing after it came to light that they waited roughly an hour for backup as an alternative of immediately transferring in on the gunman.

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