17-year-old arrested for alleged threats to shoot up Seminole High School, Sanford PD says
Timothy A. Thomas, 17, was arrested Sunday in connection with online threats to shoot up Seminole County Highschool, according to Sanford Police Department.
The investigation began on Saturday when Sanford PD received an anonymous tip regarding a video of an unknown male threatening to shoot students at Seminole High School, the police department said.
The video, taken from a video chat website that pairs random strangers called Uhmegle, pictured the subject, later identified as Thomas, with multiple guns, vests and other items of concern. In the video, the subject said he planned to die by suicide by cop and said he would carry out the mass shooting during lunch 'when there is a big group of people in between classes', according to the arrest report.
The male stated in the video that he had three magazines for his AK-47, two magazines for his SVD rifle and an extended magazine for his Glock 19, with one magazine for his M4 rifle, the report said.
In the video, the subject said he was affiliated with gangs such as Isis, members of the Bloods street gang and has affiliation with the military.
Investigators brought a clip of the video to Elevation High School Principal Donald Taunton who positively identified the subject as Thomas and said he had 'numerous personal contacts with him', according to the report.
On Sunday Thomas was identified as the subject in the video and was arrested at his home in Sanford without incident. He was arrested on charges of intimidation written/electronic threat of mass shooting/terrorism act, Sanford PD said.
Thomas was enrolled at Elevation High School but said Seminole High School was only eight minutes from his home.
During the search of Thomas's room, police located and seized numerous airsoft weapons, an airsoft vest, a laptop, an iPhone, a knife and a notebook, the arrest report said. These items matched those seen in the video that Thomas posted but no actual firearms were located, the report said.
In an interview with police, Thomas admitted he made the threats, according to the arrest report.
'I am so thankful for the collaborative work and relentless dedication of all the agencies involved in bringing this incident to a conclusion,' said Serita Beamon, Seminole County public school superintendent, in a statement. 'The safety of our students and staff is our highest priority, and we will continue to take any potential threat seriously, and act quickly.'
Sanford Police Chief Cecil Smith said the quick identification and arrest of Thomas was made possible by the collaboration of multiple agencies.
'This fast action and team work most likely prevented a tragedy and saved multiple lives,' Sanford PD Chief Cecil Smith said in a statement. 'We are thankful for the assistance of the Seminole County Sheriff's Office Gang and Habitual Offender Suppression Team (GHOST) and Crime Analyst Unit, Homeland Security Investigations, Lee County Sheriff's Office, Federal Bureau of Investigation and Seminole County Public Schools.'
Investigators are asking anyone with additional information about this incident to please contact the Sanford Police Department or Crimeline at 800 423-TIPS (8477) or visit www.crimeline.org.
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