CAPE CORAL, Fla. — A 14-year-old middle school student was arrested and charged with a written threat to conduct a mass shooting or an act of terrorism for the threat to Mariner High School on Tuesday.
Cape Coral police say the threat was posted on Snapchat saying "MHS getting shot up tmr." Officers found out about the threat through at least a dozen phone calls from parents and students on Sept. 13.
"We look to see who’s behind the keyboard, who’s producing these threats, if we’re able to link them back to those specific people then they can go to jail," said Brandon Sancho, spokesperson for Cape Coral police.
The student was identified as 14-year-old Angelina Leeper. Fox 4 is naming her because law enforcement believed her threat to be a real danger.
"It's honestly crazy and sad to see," said Hayden Kerr, whose little brother goes to Mariner High. "On Snapchat especially, things like that tend to go around pretty frequently just because of kids these days."
Cape Coral police tracked down Leeper using her Snapchat account. A student, who reported the threat, positively identified her, according to Sancho.
When they went to her home in North Fort Myers, Sancho said she changed her story several times. We asked how police deem a threat credible or not.
"If they can’t dispel our fears that they won’t carry out these specific threats or that they’re the one that actually produced these specific threats, likely they will go to jail," Sancho explained.
He said it took detectives time to get the truth from Leeper. She later admitted to owning the Snapchat account and talking to a friend Tuesday night about a possible shooting at Mariner High.
"These could be perceived fake threats, but they have real consequences," Sancho said.
Kerr said this threat makes him slightly scared for his little brother.
"It makes me just nervous to where whether I have to think and constantly be worried about him walking out of class," Kerr explained.
Mariner High School and Mariner Middle School both sent out letters to families about the school shooting threat.
We asked Cape Coral police if there were extra officers at either school. We are waiting on that answer, but Sancho said police do usually increase their presence at all schools when there is a threat.
