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

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

In an announcement Saturday, the Lee County Sheriff’s Workplace mentioned it had learned earlier that day of a "threatening text message" sent by a pupil at an elementary school.

It mentioned its local faculty risk enforcement workforce was immediately notified and began investigating. The 10-year-old boy was interviewed and charged later with "making a written risk to conduct a mass shooting," the sheriff's workplace stated.

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

“This pupil’s conduct is sickening, particularly after the latest tragedy in Uvalde, Texas,” Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno stated in an announcement, noting that the menace got here simply days after the deadly school capturing at Robb Elementary Faculty left 19 college students and two teachers lifeless.

“Proper now is not the time to behave like somewhat delinquent. It’s not funny,” he stated. “This youngster made a pretend risk, and now he’s experiencing actual penalties.”

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

The comment got here as authorities in Uvalde face mounting criticism over their response to the May 24 college taking pictures after it got here to light that they waited roughly an hour for backup as a substitute of immediately transferring in on the gunman.

Chantal Da Silva is a breaking news editor for NBC News Digital based mostly in London.