Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

'He's Just A Little Boy': Florida Mom Argues With Cops Arresting Her 15-Year-Old Son For Threatening To Shoot Up School

A 15-year-old was recently arrested in Ormond Beach, Florida, after making threats to shoot up his school online.


A video of the arrest, in which his mother tried to argue with officers that her son was just making a joke, has gone viral.

School shooting threat arrest 8/16/19youtu.be

The 15-year-old, known as FalconWarrior920 on Discord, said in an online game of Minecraft:

"I Dalton Barnhart vow to bring my fathers m15 to school and kill 7 people at a minimum."

Dalton Barnhart is not the teen's real name, but a pseudonym used to protect the minor's identity.

A screenshot of FalconWarrior920's statement was later posted to Discord before being sent as an anonymous tip to the FBI.

Buzzfeed

Officers would soon arrive at the teen's house, charging him with making threats to discharge a destructive device (a felony).

The Sheriff's office released a statement on social media saying:

"After the mass violence we've seen in Florida and across the country, law enforcement officers have a responsibility to investigate and charge those who choose to make these types of threatening statements."

As officers arrested the young man, his mother tried to defend him, saying:

"He's just a little kid playing a video game."

She didn't believe her son understood the full meaning of his words.

"It is a joke to them. It's a game."

But one of the arresting officers, Detective Howard, stood steadfast and told the mother:

"And all these kids keep getting arrested. That's why the FBI and the local law enforcement are spending so much time on this, because how do we know he's not going to be the kid from Parkland…that he's not going to be the next kid, the kid that shot up Sandy Hook. We don't know that."

Ultimately, however, it makes little difference whether or not the teen's comments were joking. According to the Volusia County Sheriff's Office, "jokes or not, these types of comments are felonies under the law."

Howard would reiterate this sentiment during the arrest:

"So if I get on there and say 'I pledge ISIS and I'm going to blow everybody up,' that's the same charge as 'you know what man, I'm fed up and I'm going to school tomorrow and shoot up my school.'"

A spokesperson from the Volusia County Sheriff's Office confirmed to Buzzfeed that the teen's family did own a gun, though the weapon was not a M15.

The mother claimed her son did not have access to the gun, though authorities could not confirm whether or not this was true, saying:

"So he has hands and feet. He can grab your gun and go do something."

The mother responded:

"He would never do anything like that."

But the officers were unswayed.

"We don't know that."


The teen would later admit to authorities he had written the message, but continued to insist it was made as a joke. Officers are frustrated by the frequency of such threats, often made jokingly online where young people feel relatively anonymous.

Twitter was disappointed by the state of our country, where the constant threat of gun violence has pushed us to react in ways like this.




The other arresting officer, Werfel, told the teen's mother:

"This is the world we're in where kids are getting shot at school while they're trying to learn. And unfortunately we can't take risks and we can't say 'alright, we trust that this guy is not going to do it' and then it happens and then we say 'well, we had the chance to stop it.'"

Sadly some people do see the humor in joking about mass murder. The documentary 13 Families available here, tells the story of 13 families of victims from the Columbine school shooting in 1999.

********

Listen to the first episode of George Takei's podcast, 'Oh Myyy Pod!', where we explore the racially charged videos that have taken the internet by storm.

Be sure to subscribe here and never miss an episode.

More from Trending

Kid Rock
Todd Kirkland/Getty Images

Kid Rock Dragged After Donning A Truly Over-The-Top Outfit For His White House Visit

Singer Kid Rock was slammed for wearing a loud patriotic costume inside the Oval Office as Republican President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Monday against ticket scalping.

The rocker's outfit consisted of a red, white, and blue jacket emblazoned with two eagles facing each other above the American flag with the number 250, a nod to America's upcoming 250th anniversary, and white stars on his sleeves.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshot of Bill Cassidy
CNBC

MAGA Senator Just Said The Quiet Part Out Loud With Epic Freudian Slip About Medicare

Louisiana Republican Senator Bill Cassidy was widely mocked following his inconvenient slip of the tongue during a CNBC interview as he mused about finding ways to "cut" Medicare before quickly correcting himself.

The exchange occurred after host Rebecca Quick pressed Louisiana Republican and former physician Bill Cassidy on how his party intended to fund the “trillion-dollar tax cuts” sought by President Donald Trump.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshot of Tim Sheehy
CNN

GOP Senator Gets Blunt Reality Check After Comparing Trump Tariff 'Pain' To Home Renovation

Montana Republican Senator Tim Sheehy was criticized after he tried to compare the "short-term pain" of President Donald Trump's tariffs to home renovation, a claim so ridiculous that CNN's Kaitlan Collins quickly pushed back on the analogy.

Trump has repeatedly referred to April 2 as “Liberation Day,” pledging to impose tariffs—taxes on imports—to reduce U.S. reliance on foreign goods. He has framed these tariffs as “reciprocal,” aiming to match the duties other nations place on American exports.

Keep ReadingShow less
Susan Crawford; Elon Musk
Scott Olson/Getty Images (left and right)

Liberal Wisconsin Judge Calls Out Elon Musk In Victory Speech—And It's Everything

Liberal judge Susan Crawford called out billionaire Elon Musk in her victory speech after winning a seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court, basking in successfully beating her Republican opponent Brad Schimel and ensuring that the nonpartisan court’s narrow 4-3 liberal majority remains intact despite Musk's efforts to sway the race.

Musk fueled the high-stakes race, having poured more than $20 million into supporting Schimel, according to state campaign records. That includes $3 million to the state Republican Party—$2 million of which was donated just last week. Due to state election laws, large contributions must be funneled through political parties before reaching candidates.

Keep ReadingShow less

People Describe The Worst 'Bonus' They've Ever Gotten At Work

Most of us have worked at one problematic workplace, with reasons ranging from toxic coworkers to terrible bosses to unlivable pay. Sometimes, it feels like a joke that the employees are even being paid at all!

But the biggest joke of all might be the end-of-year bonus, or lack thereof. They're at times so laughable, they take the cake for horrible work conditions, or are quite literally, a slice of cake.

Keep ReadingShow less