Ross: The felon upstairs could potentially be your own child

Last month in Volusia County, Florida, police arrested a 15-year-old boy for making threats on a video game message board. He said he was going to take his father’s gun to school and kill seven people.

Some of the other online gamers reported him and soon, sheriff’s deputies were at the kid’s home asking his mother if there was indeed a rifle in the house.

Who would you sell an AR-15 firearm to?

Police body cam video recorded the interaction.

“I have a gun, yes,” the mother told police officers.

“OK, so he has hands and feet he can grab your gun and go do something,” the officer said.

“He would never do anything like that anyway,” the mom asserted.

“We don’t know that,” the officer said.

“No, but I know,” she siad.

I talked to Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood about this case. After all, the mom was in tears as officers spoke with her. Why not cut the kid some slack?

Not when there’s a gun in the house, he said. And especially not after the 2018 mass shooting in Parkland.

“After Parkland occurred I’m telling you, we have arrested dozens upon dozens of kids who would stand up in class and yell at the teacher ‘I’m bringing my fathers gun tomorrow to school and you’re dead,’” Sheriff Chitwood said.

So he has warned parents to lock up their guns in a safe that requires a fingerprint to open.

“In today’s climate, you need sit down and talk to your kids, this is not normal behavior, and you’re going to get arrested for it,” he said.

Sheriff Chitwood said that knows you have a right to your guns. But in Volusia County, if your kid makes a threat, and your gun is not secure – the sheriff is going to charge your kid with a felony.

 

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