Police in Volusia County, Florida, have arrested two elementary and middle school students after they allegedly made threats related to school violence.
The two students are Anthony Steward, 11, and Micah Swinnie, 10. Both were arrested in separate incidents occurring one day apart.
11-year-old student accused of sending threats to teachers
According to the Volusia County Sheriff's Office, Steward is a student at DeLand Middle School.
Police said he accessed a classmate's Gradebook Communications account and sent threatening messages to seven teachers.
This is not the first time Steward has been in trouble. Records show he was previously arrested in October for similar behavior, reminiscent of serious cases where 11-year-olds committed gun-related crimes in other states.
10-year-old student accused of writing threat list
The second case involves Micah Swinnie, a student at Pride Elementary School.
Police stated Swinnie left a list of threatened individuals on a desk, similar to the chilling notes discovered in other armed attack threat cases. Additionally, there were writings on a whiteboard stating he would bring a gun to school.
The student's family told police he had no access to weapons and argued the words lacked real intent.
Swinnie is currently being held on charges of making written threats to kill, though it is unclear if prosecutors will proceed with the case.
Sheriff speaks out
Sheriff Mike Chitwood stated that these types of threats seriously disrupt school operations.
He noted that these incidents force authorities to spend significant time and resources checking potential risks, especially as teenagers arrested in school shootings have become a distressing issue.
Authorities emphasized that cases of school violence threats will be handled strictly to ensure the safety of students and teachers.
