ORLANDO, Fla — Schools in Central Florida are facing a number of threats. That’s why law enforcement is taking investigations into these instances a step further.
The Orange County Sheriff’s Office is dedicating a team of investigators to look into threats to homes and schools. This new task force was just established two weeks ago and is already working on a handful of cases.
One of those cases concerns an alleged threat made by a 13-year-old boy. When that call originated, the Orange County Sheriff’s Office was quick to react, arresting him within hours. That’s because investigators say they found a group chat between 10 boys that contained a school shooting plan with a grade-by-grade hit list.
It’s situations like these that the Orange County’s threat assessment team is now tasked with looking for. The goal is to stop threats before they become a reality.
“The Orange County Sheriff’s Office has always said that we’re a primary law enforcement agency, and we’re going always going to be on the cutting edge of advancement.” Sgt. Colby Benson from the Orange County Sheriff’s Office said, “And I think that’s what this unit shows is that we’re willing to step up to the plate and are willing to do what we need to keep our community safe, specifically our most vulnerable community, which is our kids.”
The task force tracks other threats besides possible school shootings. For example, a 17-year-old was radicalized online by ISIS and threatened to kill his mother’s wife, according to investigators.
Police say the teen’s threats didn’t stop there, saying he had written plans to commit terrorist attacks.
The new team is here to make sure calls like this don’t fall through the cracks or get mixed in with all the other work investigators are doing.
Another goal of the task force is keeping tabs. In the 17-year-old’s case, investigators have been monitoring his behavior behind bars. They found a journal he was keeping and have been listening to his calls.
They are working to get him the help he needs, but they know it doesn’t always end there. There is a lot of work and follow-up to be done in cases like these to make sure it stops there.
Benson said. “It was made for a clearinghouse, but it’s also made because we saw somewhat of a gap. Not that they weren’t being investigated, but there was something more we could do and law enforcement to address long term problems. When we talk about threats and how we manage them and historically, our violent crimes has been Tasked with investigating the criminal side of threats. But what they don’t have the ability to do is to really look at long term solutions for these individuals and come up with some management plan. So that’s essentially why the unit was created.”
In the coming weeks, both of these teenagers are expected to go to trial. What happens next is up to the court system.
The threat assessment team can only do its job is crimes are reported. You can help by calling Crimeline at 1-800-123-8477. You may also submit tips to Fortify Florida.
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