‘Columbine Part Two’ Threatened By High School Student: Hillsborough Sheriff

BRANDON, FL — A 15-year-old Brandon High School student was arrested Thursday after posting a threatening message on social media, the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release.

The boy was charged with written or electronic threat to commit a mass shooting or act of terrorism and unlawful use of a two-way communications device.

Though the sheriff’s office has named the teen, it’s Patch policy not to name juveniles accused of a crime unless they’re charged as an adult. It’s unknown whether the boy was charged as a minor or an adult.

School resource deputies responded to the school Thursday after receiving a tip that the student had posted on social media “that he wanted to commit Columbine Part Two,” the sheriff’s office said.

Two teen shooters killed 12 students and one teacher, injuring dozens others before turning their guns on themselves, in a 1999 shooting at Columbine High School in Colorado.

The Brandon High School student admitted to investigators that he wrote and posted the message from his cell phone. He told them that the post was intended as “dark humor.”

No weapons were found with the student or on school property.

"Any kind of threat of violence is unacceptable and will not be tolerated within our schools," Sheriff Chad Chronister said. "We want young people to understand that posts like this have serious consequences and will always be investigated. We encourage students to think before they post and to report anything that raises concern."

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