Florida authorities released on Monday, May 30, the mugshot and arrest footage of a 10-year-old boy accused of threatening to shoot up his own school.
Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno told W Radio in Colombia that he did a campaign which was a fake threat. Marceno said that while he understands that the boy is ten years old and his brain is not fully developed as the kid is still a juvenile, he believed that when a 10-year-old presses a trigger, the aftermath is the same regardless of the age.
The sheriff's office posted a video on social media platform Facebook showing Daniel Isaac Marquez - a fifth-grade student at Patriot Elementary School in Cape Coral - being arrested by police on Saturday, May 28, for the alleged text-message threat, which was forwarded to deputies by a tipster that same day.
Suspect told friend to get ready for him to carry out mass shooting
Marquez was shown being led off with his hands cuffed behind his back while dressed in camouflage, blue Crocs, a hooded, zip-up sweatshirt, and matching shorts. Marceno spoke about the baby-faced suspect in the interview, saying that Marquez told a friend in a text message about "wads of cash" and to "get ready" for him to carry out the mass shooting.
The boy allegedly wrote in the text, "I scammed my friend." According to an arrest report, the message included a Google image of money. Marquez then allegedly shared an image of four assault rifles he said he bought and told his friend to "get ready for water day." The New York Post reported that he was referencing a recent school-sponsored event in which students in his school participated in water activities.
Marceno said that they didn't wait one second when asked about authorities looking into the boy's threat. Marceno said they investigate every threat as if it is real. He added that they have zero tolerance and that their children will be safe no matter what.
Marquez charged as a juvenile with making a written threat to conduct a mass shooting
Marceno then made a passionate plea, saying, "So, what we need to do is, I beg the parents to sit with your children. We need to do everything we can as a team to prevent these types of issues and not ignore the red flags."
Marceno said Marquez was charged as a juvenile with making a written threat to conduct a mass shooting. Later in the interview, he spelled out his department's response to a would-be school shooter.
He made a stern warning, saying, "You don't get to come into one of my schools in my county and present deadly force because we meet deadly force with deadly force, without one second, without hesitation." Marceno added, "If you think you're going to come and kill a child, a teacher or a faculty member, think again, we will kill you immediately." Marceno told NBC News that now is not the right time to act like a little delinquent as it is not funny.
