POLK COUNTY, Fla. — Detectives arrested a 17-year-old boy in Florida for allegedly threatening to commit mass murder.
The Polk County Sheriff's Office said the teenager made the violent and disturbing threats on the Discord text-chat app used by gamers.
Detectives immediately began an investigation after the sheriff's office received multiple tips about the threats from other Discord users.
Authorities said multiple online companies aided in the investigation, helping them identify the teenager who was staying with a friend at a home in Winter Haven, Florida.
According to the arrest report, the 17-year-old admitted to making the threatening posts after getting jealous of other gamers.
The sheriff's office released a list of the threats the teen allegedly made:
- “I’M GOING TO KILL SO MANY PEOPLE!!!!
- “SO MAY [MANY] BAD GUYS WILL DIE!!”
- “I’M GOING TO ATAB [STAB] SO MAY [MANY] PEOPLE AND MAKE THEM HURT!!”
- “I get pretty happy when I imagine myself being a villain going on a mass murdering spree like in a movie as f****d up as it sounds….”
- “HAHAHAHAHAHA I WANT SO MANY PEOPLE TO DIE BY HAND AND THEN PLAY WITH THEIR GUTS WHILE THAY [THEY] ARE STILL ALIVE!!!”
- “NOBODY UNDERSTANDS ME!!! BUT THEY WILL UNDERSTAND HOW DEAD THEY WILL BE IN A MINUTE!!”
Detectives arrested the teen October 23, charging him with written threat to kill or injure. WFTS is not naming him due to his age.
“We sincerely appreciate those who brought these disturbing threats to our attention. People saw or heard something, and they said something," Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said. "We have learned from studying active shooters that in many cases there were indicators, clues and threats that were ignored prior to their evil actions. We can’t ignore these kinds of threats anymore. We must take those who make threats at their word.“
During the course of their investigation, detectives determined the 17-year-old previously made threats of school shootings in Illinois. The teenager is not currently enrolled in any school.
This story was originally published by Sean O'Reilly on WFTS.
