False Report of Active School Shooter Leads to Arrest of 11-Year-Old

Date: September 2, 2021
Prepared by: Melissa Morreale

On Thursday, September 2, 2021, the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office (FCSO) responded to a call about a possible active shooter at Rymfire Elementary School. The Sheriff’s 9-1-1 Dispatch Center received a call from a juvenile on the school premises advising there was a shooter in the school, claiming her name was “Titus” and that multiple shots were heard.

The juvenile stated no one in the classroom was hurt but shots were continuing to be fired from downstairs. When the FCSO dispatcher requested to speak to the teacher, the juvenile hung up the phone. Upon responding to the classroom that the call was made from, FCSO deputies made contact with the teacher who advised he did not hear or see anything matching the report of the school shooter.

Deputies made 25 attempts to call the number that filed the report, the phone was answered once, and deputies were hung up on then sent to voicemail. Contact with the caller was unsuccessful. The school administrator added the number to his phone contacts and attempted to add the contact to his Snapchat. He was able to view a Snapchat account to the name of a Flagler Palm Coast High School student whose two siblings attend Rymfire Elementary.

The juvenile subject was then called by the school administrator and her phone rang, confirming the subject made the 9-1-1 call. The juvenile was escorted to a conference room by the principal to meet with deputies. During questioning, it was determined that the juvenile attempted to “prank the Sheriff’s Office.” She then stated that a student behind her told her to call 9-1-1 and tell law enforcement there was a shooter on campus. “This student learned the hard way that we do not tolerate false reports, especially of an active shoot[er] on a school campus,” Sheriff Rick Staly said. “Here is a great example to the youth that threats are not a joke, and pranking law enforcement is a crime. We take all threats very seriously and they will not be tolerated. This fake call required multiple deputies to respond to the school taking deputies away from responding to other calls. Parents please talk to your children about making threats and be the Sheriff in your home. Threats are not a joke and making one will get you arrested.”

Following questioning, the juvenile was arrested. She was transported to the Sheriff Perry Hall Inmate Detention Facility and is being charged with False Report of a Bomb, Misuse of a 911 System, and Interfere with School Administrative Functions. She was turned over to the custody of the Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ).