LAUDERHILL – The Broward Sheriff’s Office announced the arrest of a 12-year-old girl accused of making social media threats to county schools.
Officials said the Lauderhill girl, who has not been identified, posted threats to several schools across Broward, including schools in Lauderdale Lakes, Lauderhill, Fort Lauderdale and Sunrise.
When Princess Arscott heard a message from her daughter’s principal about a threat to her school, her heart sank.
“I’m scared as a mom because of all the shootings,” she said.
After the arrest of the 12-year-old girl from a Lauderhill 6-to-12 school, the principal wrote, “The district was made aware of a non-credible threat. The author was located and facing criminal charges and likely expulsion.”
That’s on top of a 14 year old arrested over the weekend for threatening ten schools district-wide.
“I don’t know what to do to stop this. We need to think before you post. It’s not a joke,” said an exasperated Superintendent Dr. Howard Hepburn on Tuesday after this latest arrest.
With at least a half dozen threats made in South Florida since school returned, Broward School Board member Debbi Hixon, whose husband was killed in the Parkland school massacre, has an idea on how to make it stop and it involves possibly fining parents.
“Police keep saying it costs $50,000 in resources every time. Maybe that’s another consequence,” she said.
A consequence that could work for the parent, Princess Arscott.
“When you see how much it couid cost, maybe you’d think twice,” she said, but Cheyenne C., whom we met picking up her sister isn’t so sure.
“If you don’t get to the root, it’s not going away. Throwing money at a problem doesn’t solve it,” she said.
