Columbus Station, OH / Alachua County, FL – A mass shooting and bomb threat targeting a central Ohio high school on Thursday afternoon triggered a multi-agency response and led to criminal charges against a juvenile in North Central Florida.
According to the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office, detectives were contacted Thursday, January 8, by the Lorain County Sheriff’s Office after a threatening call was made to authorities in Ohio. The caller allegedly claimed he was “about to run in your school and kill everyone” while referencing an AR-15 and a bomb at Columbia High School in Columbus Station, Ohio.
Law enforcement agencies including the Lorain County Sheriff’s Office, Columbia Township Fire, Lorain County Metro Parks, and the Ohio State Highway Patrol responded to the school. After a full sweep, investigators determined the threat was a case of “swatting” and not credible.
Investigators traced the Google Voice number used to make the call to an IP address registered to a residence in Hawthorne, located in Alachua County, Florida — about 15 miles northeast of Gainesville. Detectives with the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office Intelligence-Led Policing Unit responded to a home in Cross Creek, where two juvenile males lived.
According to deputies, the recorded voice from the threatening call matched that of a 12-year-old boy at the residence. The juvenile was detained and questioned at the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office in the presence of his guardian.
Detectives established probable cause to charge the juvenile with making a false report involving a bomb or weapon of mass destruction and unlawful use of a two-way communications device, both under Florida law. Ohio authorities were notified before the juvenile was transported to a Florida Department of Juvenile Justice detention facility.
Sheriff Scott Smith praised the coordinated effort between Ohio and Florida investigators, stating the collaboration helped hold the juvenile accountable for actions that caused widespread panic and disrupted school operations.
This article was produced by a journalist and may include AI-assisted input. All content is reviewed for accuracy and fairness.
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