11-year-old pictured in cell and arrested on felony charge after writing ‘kill list’ of classmates, police say
An 11-year-old boy in Florida was arrested Monday after allegedly writing out a “kill list” at school.
The boy, whom The Independent is not naming due to his age, is facing a felony charge of making a written threat to kill after he allegedly made the list at Highbanks Learning Center in Deltona.
The school resource deputy confirmed the child did not have access to weapons, the Volusia Sheriff’s Office said in a Facebook post showing the preteen’s “perp walk,” including him exiting a police cruiser in handcuffs and entering a jail cell.
“While school threats are down recently, Sheriff [Mike] Chitwood is continuing to stress to students and parents that these types of threats will result in felony charges,” officials said.
The “perp walk” video on Facebook sparked over 1,000 comments, with users divided between praising law enforcement and criticizing the ethics of showing the alleged perpetrator’s face online.
.jpeg)
“How is it okay to show a minor like this on social media?” one woman questioned.
“I hate this perp walking of children and then the horrible adults jumping in & judging. The child is only 11 years old. Shame on all of you,” a second person wrote,
“I agree with doing this. Absolutely,” one person countered.
Another woman commented, “I blame the internet for this stuff. This didn’t happen when I was growing up.”
“He does need guidance but I don’t think shaming him on social media is the answer,” another agreed.
“It’s almost like it’s become a challenge for them to be in one of your videos,” another user said. “I mean, it’s not like they don’t know this is wrong, they know what could happen, and yet they’re still doing it!”
The Independent has contacted Highbanks Learning Center and the Volusia Sheriff’s Office for further comment.
The Volusia Sheriff’s Office faced criticism in May for posting a “perp walk” of a 15-year-old, whom The Independent is also not naming due to their age, who allegedly gave a false bomb threat tip at University High School.
“[The 15-year-old] used the name ‘Kevin’ to send the tip from his school laptop and told deputies he was joking. What’s not a joke: Hunter was taken into custody at Highbanks Learning Center in Deltona and charged with making a false report of a bomb and disrupting the learning environment at University HS,” Chitwood wrote on Facebook at the time.





