With the rise of school shootings and threats of gun violence erupting across the country, police have begun cracking down on the consequences of these severe actions. Following the deadly shooting at Apalachee High School in Georgia which took place this past month, threats have become rampant among Florida and Georgia schools. Because of this, police are instilling harsher punishments.
Sheriff Mike Chitwood of Volusia County, Florida has promised to arrest and publicly shame adolescents who have made threats. In addition to handcuffing these perpetrators, Chitwood has also started “perp-walking” these teenagers as punishment. “Perp-walking” is the act of walking an arrested individual in handcuffs out in public as a form of humiliation.
In response to the uproar of threats, Chitwood said, “This is absolutely ridiculous. Go talk to the families who have lost a loved one in a school shooting. These little knuckleheads think it’s funny– go talk to those parents and see how funny this is– it’s not. We’re gonna come and get you, and we’re gonna put you out for public embarrassment… I know a set of parents right now that are looking at $11,000 each ‘cause somebody’s paying this bill” (Fox 35 Orlando).
There are many reasons why teenagers make threats like these. In the southern states following the recent shooting, students have realized that after threats are made, school days are often canceled in order for police to conduct investigations. Students view these investigations as a regular day off of school, so this is a main factor as to why students are making these threats.
“Parents aren’t sending their kids to school when they see these threats, so the residual damage, the collateral damage is huge,” Chitwood stated (Fox 35 Orlando).
Local threats have also arisen within Saline County. On September 28th, a threat emerged from a student at Central High School on the night of the school’s homecoming dance that talked about “shooting everyone at this dance”. The threat was posted on the social media platform Snapchat for a selected few people to see. This post was screenshotted and the local authorities were alerted. The 16 year old was arrested at her residence that night, taken into custody, and spent roughly one week at North Central Kansas Regional Juvenile Detention Facility located in Junction City. She made a real threat, and is now facing the real consequences of her actions.
Many teenagers believe that making “innocent” threats like this online are inconsequential. Recently, with the uproar of shootings and violence in schools, seemingly innocuous statements like these have been taken far more seriously than they have been in the past.
Not having impulse control is one of the biggest problems of today’s teenage generation. It is easy to get mad at something, post it for only a select few to see, and think nothing of it. However, it is imperative to think through these decisions and learn from the consequences others have been dealt in these situations.
Adolescents should remember that even posting statements that they view as “harmless” have repercussions, including ones posted on non-public platforms, like private Snapchat stories. With the rise of violence in schools, these serious threats are insensitive, careless, and should not be viewed as a joke.
Work Cited
Fox 35 Orlando. “Florida Sheriff Mike Chitwood keeps promise to ’embarrass’ school threat suspects.” YouTube, 18 September 2024, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wl3L7K2hnMQ. Accessed 8 October 2024.
