13-year-old Collier County student arrested for school threat posted to social media

The Collier County Sheriff’s Office announced on Monday that it had arrested a 13-year-old following an investigation into a social media threat.

The 13-year-old is a former student at East Naples Middle School and is currently a student at New Beginnings Naples Alternative Education Center. They found out the student was responsible for the threat of violence made against their former school via social media.

However, Collier County Public Schools says any information about discipline or a student’s academic record cannot be released. Instead, they say, details about the investigation would have to come from the sheriff’s office.

Information about a particular student and/or a student’s discipline is part of a student’s academic record and is protected by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).  Any details relating to the investigation would need to be addressed by the Collier County Sheriff’s Office.

The school threat was made over social media. Collier County deputies say the teen later confessed to writing the threat and sending it out. That student is now facing charges of written threats to kill or do bodily injury or conduct a mass shooting or an act of terrorism. That is a second-degree felony in Florida.

That student was initially taken to the Collier County Jail and is now with the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice.

But East Naples Middle School is just the latest in a string of schools mentioned in threats on social media. Lizette Froloff says she’s considered keeping her children at home. “They had one right before the holidays and I almost kept them home, because I got scared, I didn’t want anything to happen,” said Froloff.

So, on Monday afternoon, parents received an email from the school’s principal, Mary Ann Gallegos with the subject line – school safety. “It didn’t give much detail just that someone had been arrested for making unpleasant comments,” Froloff said.

“Concerning statements” was the wording used by Principal Gallegos. Whatever the exact statements were, they added to up to a felony for this teen.

Even Froloff admitted she didn’t know it was this bad. “Oh wow, no I didn’t know it was that bad,” she said.

The Collier County Sheriff’s Office urges you to report any instances that threaten school safety. “There’s people every day that have things going on at home that we don’t know about and need to be kind to everybody and if you see something going on you need to report it it’s serious,” said Froloff.

In that same email sent out by the principal, she said this ended with an arrest because she saw something and said something.

You can read the full email below:

Good afternoon East Naples Middle School family.This is your principal, Mary Ann Gallegos.

Staff and student safety is always a top priority which is why I want to make you aware of an incident involving concerning statements made by a student. Earlier today, a former student was arrested by the Collier County Sheriff’s Office for making threats against the school via social media. This was a result of someone seeing something, and saying something, which led to the arrest.  Keeping our school safe is our number one priority.  This requires everyone to stay vigilant.  Parents, we encourage you to monitor your students’ communications and social media accounts (for example: Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter and/or Facebook) and discuss with your child the appropriate use of technology. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me. Thank you, and have a good evening.

Call 911 or contact the Collier County Sheriff’s Office non-emergency number at 239-252-9300. To remain anonymous and be eligible for a reward, contact Southwest Florida Crime Stoppers at 1-800-780-8477.

Detectives today arrested a former East Naples Middle School student after an investigation determined he was responsible for a threat of violence to the school made over social media. https://t.co/HJfSny7JZx pic.twitter.com/F2wsUVPbr4

— CollierCountySheriff (@CollierSheriff) January 31, 2022