19-267 Deputies Arrest 14-Year-Old Boy For Threatening A Mass Shooting At A School In Seminole
Shooting Threat
Who:
Pinellas County Sheriff's Office
Patrol Operations Bureau
-School Resource Officer Unit
Wyatt Shahade (Arrested)
DOB: 08/31/2005
Address: 6832 114th Street North in Seminole
Charges: One count of Written Threats to Kill or do Bodily Injury; Electronic Communication
What:
Deputies have arrested a 14-year-old boy for threatening a mass shooting at his school in Seminole.
When:
The incident occurred on October 15, 2019 at about 4:05 p.m.
The suspect was arrested October 16, 2019 at about 12:11 p.m.
Where:
The suspect was arrested at his residence located at 6832 114th Street North in Seminole.
Why/How:
Deputies have arrested a 14-year-old boy for threatening a mass shooting at a school in Seminole.
According to deputies, on October 15, 2019 the LiFT Academy School, located at 13400 Park Boulevard in Seminole, gave the parents of 14-year-old Wyatt Shahade the option to withdraw their son from the school or have him expelled because of an altercation that happened the week prior. The decision was made to withdraw Shahade from the school.
Deputies say after being withdrawn, Shahade sent text messages to a classmate stating “I’m finna shoot that school up.” In addition, Shahade specifically mentioned two other classmates and a school faculty member as shooting targets in the text messages.
The next morning, a parent of the student that Shahade texted saw the messages and alerted the school of the messages. The school immediately alerted the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office of the threats. As a precaution, LiFT Academy School activated a lockdown until deputies could make contact with Shahade.
Deputies quickly located Shahade at his residence where he remained cooperative during the investigation. An adult family member allowed deputies to search the residence and it was determined that Shahade had no access to any firearms.
Shahade admitted to deputies he sent the threats because he was “mad.”
Deputies arrested Shahade on October 16, 2019 for Written Threats to Kill or Do Bodily Injury; Electronic Communication. Shahade was transported to Pinellas County Juvenile Assessment Center without incident.
The Sheriff’s Office will continue to investigate all complaints of this nature. We encourage the public to report any suspicious activity to law enforcement immediately and we will diligently investigate all reported information.
The investigation continues.
