Police arrested Florida teen Corey Anderson at his home near Tampa on Sunday for written or electronic threats to conduct a mass shooting or act of terrorism.
The 18-year-old allegedly posted photos of weapons on social media with a caption asking Siri the directions to the nearest school. Siri is a built-in, voice-controlled personal assistant available for Apple users.
According to jail records, Anderson was booked but was released on bond hours later, NBC News reports.
Unacceptable threats
The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office detectives were informed about Anderson's alleged post on Sunday. As per the investigation, authorities found that the handgun and rifle were "airsoft guns," resembling typical firearms and using plastic pellets as bullets.
In a statement, Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister said that the threat is unacceptable as Anderson intentionally instilled fear into the community as a sick joke.
Chronister added that protecting students is their greatest priority, and they take threats seriously. The sheriff also vowed that his agency would "do everything within our power" to track down individuals threatening schools.
A day before Anderson's post, Sheriff deputies in Florida also arrested a ten-year-old fifth-grade student after being accused of threatening to shoot up a school. According to KKTV, the school involved was Patriot Elementary School in Cape Coral.
The 10-year-old boy, Daniel Isaac Marquez, was also charged with making a written threat to conduct a mass shooting. The fifth-grader allegedly made the threat through text messenger. Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno said that as the child made a fake threat, he is now experiencing the consequences.
The father of the 10-year-old Florida boy, Dereck Marquez, 35, broke into tears when asked about his son's shocking arrest. Authorities confirmed that guns were established in the family home and that the son had access to the firearms in Cape Coral.
Marceno said that he does not know precisely how the guns are stored. But making the threat and having access to firearms in the house brings a whole different dynamic level. He added that he never wanted to put a handcuff on a 10-year-old, but he tried to warn people that fake threats have real consequences.
The young Marquez will remain in juvenile court detention for 21 days.
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Wake of Uvalde school shooting
Anderson and Marquez's arrest came days after Salvador Ramos,18, entered Rob Elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, and shot dead 19 elementary school students and two teachers. Law enforcement officers eventually killed Ramos 80 minutes after he entered the classroom.
The complaints of parents and witnesses on the delayed response of law enforcement, the inconsistent statements and narratives of the events, and standard police procedures for an active shooter not being followed have prompted a state-led investigation on the shooting, USA Today reports.
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