Teen Arrested for Alleged Threat to Shoot Up FPCHS

A 16-year-old girl was arrested by the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office on Friday after she was accused of making a threat to shoot up Flagler Palm Coast High School, where she attends. The FCSO processed Lauren Schartel at the county jail on one criminal charge before releasing her to the custody of her parents.

The threat in question was a post the girl appeared to publish to her Snapchat account with a selfie and the message ‘I forgot to use setting spray I’m gonna shoot up the school’. The post was brought to the attention of the FBI, who contacted the FCSO. A school resource deputy located the girl and brought her in for questioning. Upon being questioned, the teen is said to have admitted to making the post. She was charged with making a written or electronic threat to kill or inflict bodily harm on another.

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Releasing the Suspect’s Identity

The FCSO made the decision to release the identity of the girl, in the wake of a newfound practice by the Volusia Sheriff’s Office in which they publish minors’ faces and show a video of their ‘perp walk’ in handcuffs when the minors make alleged threats against schools. The practice is controversial, and in Flagler County minors’ identity is often only released in instances where the suspect has committed a severe or violent crime. They released the identity of one thirteen-year-old who made an alleged school threat in September, while withholding the identity of a twelve-year-old with a similar charge. Her name is included in this article as it’s already readily publicly available as a result of the FCSO’s news release.

The social media posting that landed Schartel in legal trouble. ⓒ Flagler County Sheriff’s Office

One distinction between those two incidents and this newest one is the age of the perpetrators. Sixteen-year-olds can be treated by the law as much closer to adults in terms of discernment and judgment than preteens or early-teenagers. On the other hand, the message in this instance was more obviously made in dark humor than the previous two (both simply asserted an impending killing spree, Friday’s message merely implied an exaggerated frustration with a makeup blunder).

Consistent Enforcement

Specifics aside, the FCSO has been clear and consistent about their policy of response with messages that threaten school violence: they’re all treated as serious out of an abundance of caution. Even in the most obviously sarcastic situations, the FCSO operates like the TSA – don’t even joke about bombs unless you want to be treated as a terror suspect for the day.

“The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office takes all threats seriously, especially ones made towards a school or its student body,” said Flagler Sheriff Rick Staly. “Parents, once again, I implore you to be the Sheriff in your home and talk to your kids. What a stupid comment to make because you forgot the spray to go over your makeup. Explain to them that stupid comments will get you arrested if you make a threat. We don’t like arresting your child, but we will ensure Flagler County students are safe. I want to thank the FBI for sending us the tip so our deputies could act swiftly and make an arrest.”