Student Says School Threat Was Joke; Sheriff Not Laughing

PINELLAS COUNTY, FL — A Pinellas Park Middle School student was arrested after posting that she's thought about committing a mass shooting at her school, although she added she'd never do it.

The Pinellas County Sheriff's Office received an anonymous tip Sunday night, saying that a 13-year-old girl posted a school threat on the social media site Snapchat.

According to the sheriff's office, the girl wrote, "I'm can't be the only one who want to shoot up my school, not going to do it just a thought."

She later deleted the post when she realized that other students had taken a screenshot of her post and shared it. In a subsequent post, she wrote, "For all you that reposted, it was a joke and I did not mean it."

But the sheriff's office said intentions don't count. She was charged with one count of making written threats to conduct a mass shooting.

The Pinellas County Sheriff's Office offers a social media resource to parents called, "A Toolbox for Parents." The toolbox provides resources to help parents in protecting their families while online and can be found here.