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At Least 15 Volusia County Students Arrested For School Threats

Photo from Volusia County Sheriff's Facebook page.
Photo from Volusia County Sheriff's Facebook page.

There have been at least 15 arrests in Volusia County related to school threats since the Parkland school shooting on Valentine’s Day. Sheriff Mike Chitwood said those arrested have been charged with felonies.

Chitwood says he’s talking with the state attorney to see if the families of those students can be required to pay for the cost of the investigation.

“That starts at $1,000, and depending upon how much work or if the bomb squad is involved or a SWAT team is involved, that can go as high as $10,000,” said Chitwood.

Some of the charges involved students making comments about shooting or having a gun.

“I’m not looking to ruin a young man or young woman’s future. But in this climate, if you’re going to be that stupid and your parents are going to be that lax and you’re not going to raise your child, then I’m going to raise them for you,” said Chitwood.

Chitwood urges parents to talk with their kids about making threats at school or on social media.

The Volusia County Sheriff’s Office has investigated more than 30 threat total, said Chitwood.

Editor's Note: The headline and story were updated to reflect the most recent number of arrests