Canadian Teen Threatened Shooting At FL LGBTQ Pride Event: Police

WEST PALM BEACH, FL — A Canadian teenager was arrested after police said he threatened a mass shooting at Pride on the Block in West Palm Beach, which took place Sunday.

The annual South Florida LGBTQ pride event was originally set to happen Saturday, but it was rescheduled because of Potential Tropical Storm 1, which briefly formed into Tropical Storm Alex after drenching South Florida.

The 17-year-old was taken into custody in Canada early Monday morning for making the threats, police said. Canadian authorities have charged him with threats to commit a mass shooting, according to a news release from West Palm Beach police.

Charges are pending from the West Palm Beach Police Department regarding making written or electronic threats to kill, do bodily injury, or conduct a mass shooting or an act of terrorism.

The Miami Police Department told West Palm Beach police about the online threat after receiving a report of the suspect sharing a video Sunday on the platform Omegle.

In the video, the teen waved a gun, made anti-LGBTQ+ comments, and said he lived in Palm Beach County and planned to commit a mass shooting at the Pride on the Block event that day, police said.

The WPBPD’s Strategic Intelligence Center developed information that ultimately identified the location of the suspect. The New York Police Department, Toronto Police Service, Peel Regional Police and FBI participated in the international, multiagency investigation.

When the suspect was taken into custody, the video and the gun seen in the video were recovered by Canadian police, according to authorities.

In response to the threat, additional uniformed, undercover and SWAT officers were at Pride on the Block.

One of the event’s organizers, Transpire Help, addressed the threat in a social media post Sunday afternoon, noting that “safety and security (was the group’s) primary concern.”

“Due to the nature of our current environment, with overwhelming attacks against the LGBTQ+ community, there will be an increased uniformed police presence throughout today’s festivities,” the organization wrote on Facebook. “We understand this can be triggering for our population and felt we should inform the public with our decision to move forward with additional police presence in full cooperation with the city and West Palm Beach Police Department.”