A Florida sheriff is being praised in the media after calling on parents to “do their jobs” amid a series of threats of school shootings across the state.
Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood made the comments after his department arrested an 11-year-old boy who made threats against a local school.
He stated in a social media post that people “better prepare for Monday” when he announced that he will begin posting photos and “perpetrator walks” of the students who made false threats along with their parents, all in an attempt to publicly shame the accused and shame the parents into “parenting their kids” or else he will… go to jail.
Now, people have flocked to X to applaud Chitwood for his sensible policy that aims to end violence and threats in schools.
One user said: “Of course! That’s what had to happen. It’s called ACCOUNTABILITY for your stupid mistakes.”
Another user said: “That’s unbelievable! Parents today are worthless. You have to be like the parents in the 70s and 80s, the gen X parents. I guess they were the baby boomers. People raising kids today are a bunch of weirdos, my god.”
This comes after 54 reports of school shooting threats were received in less than 24 hours, all of which were “deemed false.”
Sheriff Chitwood yesterday released a photograph and video of the “perp walk” of 11-year-old Carlo “Kingston” Dorelli, who is accused of making a shooting threat at Port Orange High School.
The sheriff’s office said a search of the student’s room led to the discovery of airsoft rifles, pistols, fake ammunition, knives, swords and other weapons, which the student was showing to others in a Facetime video designed to give a realistic appearance.
Following yesterday’s arrest, Chitwood revealed that his department had spent nearly $21,000 investigating a multitude of fake school shootings since Sept. 13.
In a video posted on X, Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood warned parents that photos of themselves and their children will be posted on social media following false threats of school shootings.
An 11-year-old student, Carlo ‘Kingston’ Dorelli, was arrested and charged as a juvenile after threatening to shoot up a high school.
“I can’t say it any clearer,” he said on X. “You don’t get on a plane and yell ‘hijack,’ you don’t walk into a movie theater and yell ‘fire,’ you don’t go online and post that you’re going to shoot up a school. If you do, you’ll be sent to jail.”
She added that since the beginning of the school year there have been a total of 207 threats, which is “unacceptable” and “not a joke.”
“This is absolutely out of control and it ends now,” he added in the post.
“Parents, do your job, don’t let Sheriff Chitwood raise your kids. Go talk to the families who have lost a loved one in a school shooting. These little idiots think it’s funny. Go talk to those parents and see how funny it is.”
“No, we’re going to come and get you and make you a public fool.”
Dorelli said the “hit list” authorities found after searching his room was “just a joke” and that he had no intention of harming any of the people on the list.
During a search of the suspect’s room, authorities found replicas of assault rifles, samurai swords, throwing stars and knives that the 11-year-old boy showed to other classmates on a video call.
Police were alerted to Dorelli’s alleged threats through a tip to Fortify Florida, according to a news release.
Dorelli claimed “it was all a joke” after authorities discovered a “kill list,” which had a written list of names and targets, The Daily Mail reported.
Other students who witnessed the weapons via video chat said they were unsure whether the weapons were real.
Dorelli denied that he would ever cause real harm to anyone at school, and made a list of names as a joke, according to CNN.
Sheriff Chitwood has kept his promise and shared the mugshot and videos of the 11-year-old boy who was arrested for threatening to shoot up Port Orange High School in Florida.
His arrest followed two other arrests: a 13-year-old student and a 14-year-old student at Heritage Middle School who were arrested for making written death threats after allegedly posting about committing a school shooting on social platforms like TikTok and Instagram, according to Fox News.
A wave of rumors about school shootings has recently erupted in Florida, following the deadly attack at Apalachee High School in Georgia, when a 14-year-old student opened fire, killing four people: two students and two teachers.
The suspect was surrounded and immediately surrendered before being taken into custody and tried for murder as an adult.
The spate of school shooting threats is not limited to one state. On Friday, two teenagers were arrested in Foley, Alabama, after “making terroristic threats” on social media, CNN added.
This came days after another school in the same city was placed on lockdown after a teacher overheard a student arguing with him about having a gun.
That same day, a 12-year-old boy and a 15-year-old boy were arrested in Indianapolis in two separate cases of violent threats against their school, CNN added.
Sheriff Chitwood is warning parents to get their kids in line and “raise their kids” after Fortify Florida received 54 tips in less than 24 hours about school shooting threats, costing the agency $21,000 to investigate.
Dozens of threats have also plagued Texas in just the month since the school year began, with many of the perpetrators being preteens.
In San Antonio, multiple arrests have already been made, including two 12-year-old students who were arrested in one week for posting threatening images on social media, according to My Saint Anthony.
On Sept. 8, one of the 12-year-old boys threatened to shoot up multiple schools in several different San Antonio districts and posted a photo of a gun and tagged several San Antonio-area campuses with dates, My San Antonio added.
With the school year just starting, parents are worried and concerned about sending their children to school amidst increasing threats and anxiety.
More than 383,000 students have experienced gun violence at school since Columbine, according to The Washington Post.
Since the deadly 1999 attack that claimed the lives of 13 people (12 students and one teacher) at Columbine High School in Colorado, there have been 417 school shootings across the United States, the Washington Post added.
“We had seven arrests and someone tried to bring a gun to a football game,” Chitwood added.
“You think this is a joke? They’re going to handcuff you and parade you in front of the media behind me and film your parents when they come to pick you up.”
“So parents, get your kids in order, or your checkbook and your pride will hurt. I promise you that.”
