St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office says deputies discovered group text messages which discussed the identification of target students including photographs.
ST JOHNS, Fla. — Three Creekside High School students have been arrested as they are accused of creating a “lethal hit list,” “hit list” and making a “credible threat” against other students, according to a Facebook post from the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office.
First Coast News will not release the names or pictures of the students arrested due to them being minors. However, the students arrested are two 14-year-old boys and one 15-year-old boy.
In the Facebook post, deputies with the St. Johns County Youth Services Unit say they were notified of “suspicious communications” sent among the students arrested, concerning a “hit list” and “lethal hit list” that were targeting multiple students.
The sheriff’s office says deputies discovered group text messages which discussed the identification of target students including photographs with faces circled, aerial photographs of Creekside High School with an on-campus location circled and the use of firearms.
Police say the “hit list” was created for students the group wanted to kill.
SJCSO says their Major Crimes Unit detectives were consulted and the decision was made to charge the students with written threats to kill or do bodily harm as well as unlawful use of a two-way communications device. The students were taken into custody at the St. Johns County Jail.
Sheriff Rob Hardwick released the following statement on the Facebook post:
“Nothing is more important to me than the safety of our children and this is another example of the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office commitment to protect the more than 50,000 students who attend classes on a daily basis. I am proud of the youth services deputies assigned to this investigation, who acted quickly on the information that was provided and prevented a potential tragedy,” said Sheriff Rob Hardwick.
