A 13-year-old Crestview boy has been arrested and faces felony charges
following an Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office Investigation into a separate
TikTok post targeting multiple schools within Okaloosa County.
On Monday, August 31, the OCSO received multiple tips through Fortify
Florida in reference to another fictitious TikTok account posting a concerning
message referencing Crestview High School, Davidson Middle School, and
Pineview School.
Through law enforcement investigative techniques, the Juvenile creator of
these posts was quickly located at his residence and confessed to the crime
during an interview with Investigators.
The juvenile, who is homeschooled, was taken into custody and charged
with three counts of Florida State Statute 836.10(2)(b), Written/Electronic
Threat to Conduct a Mass Shooting, and one count of Florida State Statute
934.215, Use of a Two-Way Communication Device to Facilitate a Felony.
These recent cases have shown to mimic a current TikTok trend called “Cat
in the Hat,” which is a viral social media hoax trend making threats of school
shootings. The safety and security of our schools remain our highest priority.
Any individual identified as responsible for creating, posting, or distributing
threats on any platform will be thoroughly investigated, and appropriate
enforcement action will be taken. Threats against our schools will be treated
with the utmost seriousness and will not be tolerated.
