Armed Teens' Snapchat Video Backfired, Deputies Say

ORLANDO, FL — Bringing a handgun, magazine and bullets to school is never a wise decision. Posing with said contraband items and posting a video to Snapchat isn't either.

Two Cypress Creek High School students in Orlando reportedly learned that lesson the hard way Monday after a video they allegedly posted to Snapchat raised alarm bells for another student. That student, in turn, alerted a parent, who called on the Orange County Sheriff’s Office for assistance.

The video reportedly showed two boys, ages 15 and 17, holding a handgun inside the school’s bathroom while pointing it at the camera. Another image focused in on the bullets and magazines, the sheriff's office said.

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Those images were enough to kick off an investigation to ferret out the identity of the two boys. The sheriff’s office reported on Facebook its deputies, the high school’s resource officer and school officials “worked through the night to identify the two suspects.”

Identify them, they did, the agency said. Both teens were arrested at their homes. One of the boys, the sheriff’s office said, had the gun still in his backpack. The two were charged with possession of a firearm on school property and possession of a firearm by a minor. Patch is not identifying the boys because of their age.

The case, the sheriff’s office, said stands as a reminder of the importance of people speaking up when they spot something that doesn’t seem right.

“We thank the student and parent who recognized this threat,” the agency wrote on Facebook. “We constantly remind the community of the national ‘See Something Say Something’ campaign.”

The teens aren’t the only Floridians to have their social media postings backfire on them in recent history. Last October, a Lakeland woman was accused of driving drunk while broadcasting her activities live on the Periscope app. The live video stream led police officers right to her location.

A man also used Facebook to taunt the Polk County Sheriff’s Office as its deputies were searching for him on outstanding warrants. That agency got the last laugh, posting on Twitter after their suspect's arrest:

“Logan Hale, you are on your way to jail,” Sheriff Grady Judd tweeted. “Your attempts to hide were to no avail. Epic fail.”

Texting, too, has been known to get people into a spot a trouble. A woman who allegedly texted “driving drunk woo” right before a fatal crash now faces DUI manslaughter charges.

Image via Shutterstock