A Florida teenager has been charged with threatening another school shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, where 17 people were slaughtered in 2018.
Oliver Manik, 17, was busted early Thursday after allegedly sending disturbing messages to classmates at the Parkland, Florida, school Wednesday, the day after four were shot dead in a Michigan school.
“I feel like school shooting tmrw,” the 11th grader wrote, according to a probable cause affidavit.
“When I sneeze it’s a signal go to the bathroom OK. I hope y’all aren’t snitches,” he texted his pals, according to the document.
He allegedly made the threat in a chat room, which at least one of his classmates reported to Broward Sheriff’s Office.
Manik was arrested early Thursday on a felony count of writing a threat to conduct a mass shooting. He appeared in court Friday and was ordered to be detained until Dec. 24, WSVN said.
He was also suspended for 10 days from the Parkland school that was already devastated by a school shooting when 19-year-old pupil Nikolas Cruz murdered 17 people and injured another 17 on Valentine’s Day 2018.
Manik’s mother ins isted to WSVN that her son was merely joking.
“He’s a normal kid from a normal family and a safe environment. He doesn’t realize the world is not so safe,” said the mom, who was not identified by the outlet.
“He just wanted to show [off] among his friends,” she said. “It’s not an excuse for his behavior. It’s just an explanation.”
She said that her family did not live in the US in 2018 when the school became the site of the fourth-deadliest school shooting in US history.
“We lived in a country where schools are safe,” she told WSVN, which did not elaborate on which country she was referring to.
“In my country, schools are very safe. Our mindset is very peaceful,” she insisted.
Marjory Stoneman principal Michelle Kefford told parents about the arrest in a robocall Thursday.
In it, she warned that “any threat — even if they think it is a joke — will result in serious consequences,” WSVN said.
“In Florida, a threat made against a school is a second-degree felony,” her message warned, saying pupils also face expulsion.
Tony Montalto, president of Stand With Parkland, the group that represents the families whose relatives died in the 2018 shooting, said the threat “further proves the need for timely investigation and notification to parents regarding threats to schools.”
“In the wake of the Michigan shootings this week and this incident…, I urge our elected leaders at all levels of government to commit to a renewed focus on the safety of students and staff,” Montalto said.
Cruz, now 23, pleaded guilty in October to murdering 14 students and three staff members and the attempted murder of 17 others.
He faces trial starting in January to determine if he will be executed or receive a life sentence without parole.
With Post wires