Latest news with #CecilSmith
Yahoo
10-03-2025
- Yahoo
Police arrest teen and seize guns after online threats to 'shoot up school'
A Florida teenager was arrested and charged Sunday in connection with what police called online threats to "shoot up" a high school, before seizing a collection of guns and protective vests. The 17-year-old was arrested after police in Sanford, less than an hour north of Orlando, were alerted to a video allegedly featuring him threatening to launch an attack on nearby Seminole High School. He has been charged with intimidation through making a written or electronic threat of mass shooting or a terrorist act. The teenager is a student at Elevation High School, also in Sanford, and was arrested without incident at his home, police said. Police said they acted on an anonymous tip received Saturday, which pointed them to the video that showed multiple guns. The Orlando Sentinel reported, citing court documents, that in the video the teenager claimed to have an extensive arsenal, including an AK-47 assault rifle, a SVD rifle, a Glock 19 handgun and a M4 rifle. When police searched his home, however, they instead found airsoft weapons and an airsoft vest. They also seized a laptop, iPhone, a knife and a notebook from the house, the Sentinel reported. Sanford Police Chief Cecil Smith said the 17-year-old was quickly identified as the person in the video thanks to the quick collaboration of multiple agencies including the Seminole County Sheriff's Office, Homeland Security, the FBI and Seminole County Public Schools. "This fast action and team work most likely prevented a tragedy and saved multiple lives," he said in a statement. Superintendent Serita Beamon said: "I am so thankful for the collaborative work and relentless dedication of all the agencies involved in bringing this incident to a conclusion." There has so far been one planned school shooting in the United States this year, at a high school in Nashville in January, when one student was killed and another was injured. The suspect fatally shot himself. A 19-year-old gunman killed 17 people at his former school in Parkland, Florida, in 2018. Anyone with information on the Seminole County case is asked to contact Sanford Police Department or Crime line at 800 423-TIPS (8477) or visit which they can do anonymously. This article was originally published on
NBC News
10-03-2025
- NBC News
Police arrest teen and seize guns after online threats to 'shoot up school'
A Florida teenager was arrested and charged on Sunday in connection with what police called online threats to "shoot up" a high school, before seizing a collection of guns and protective vests. The 17-year-old was arrested after police in Sanford, less than an hour north of Orlando, were alerted to a video allegedly featuring him threatening to launch an attack on nearby Seminole High School. He has been charged with intimidation through making a written or electronic threat of mass shooting or a terrorist act. The teenager is a student at Elevation High School, also in Sanford, and was arrested without incident at his home, police said. Police said they acted on an anonymous tip received Saturday, which pointed them to the video that showed multiple guns. The Orlando Sentinel reported, citing court documents, that in the video the teenager claimed to have an extensive arsenal, including an AK-47 assault rifle, a SVD rifle, a Glock 19 handgun and a M4 rifle. When police searched his home, however, they instead found airsoft weapons and an airsoft vest. They also seized a laptop, iPhone, a knife and a notebook from the house, the Sentinel reported. Sanford Police Chief Cecil Smith said the 17-year-old was quickly identified as the person in the video thanks to the quick collaboration of multiple agencies including the Seminole County Sheriff's Office, Homeland Security, the FBI and Seminole County Public Schools. "This fast action and team work most likely prevented a tragedy and saved multiple lives," he said in a statement. Superintendent Serita Beamon said: "I am so thankful for the collaborative work and relentless dedication of all the agencies involved in bringing this incident to a conclusion." There has so far been one planned school shooting in the United States this year, at a high school in Nashville in January, when one student was killed and another was injured. The suspect fatally shot himself. A 19-year-old gunman killed 17 people at his former school in Parkland, Florida, in 2018. Anyone with information on the Seminole County case is asked to contact Sanford Police Department or Crimeline at 800 423-TIPS (8477) or visit which they can do anonymously.
CNN
10-03-2025
- CNN
Florida police arrest student after video threat to ‘shoot up' a high school
Florida police have arrested a high school student after video emerged of a potential gunman threatening to open fire at a school. The Sanford Police Department said it received an anonymous tip on Saturday 'regarding a video of an unknown male threatening to shoot up Seminole High School.' 'The video pictured the subject with multiple guns, vests, and other items of concern,' police said in a statement Sunday. Sanford police and other law enforcement worked to identify the person featured in the video. Their investigations led them to arrest a 17-year-old a day later. Police said the 17-year-old is enrolled at Elevation High School, which is also in the city of Sanford. He was taken into custody at his home without incident. He is charged with Intimidation Written/Electronic Threat of Mass Shooting/Terrorism Act. It is unknown if he has an attorney. Crediting the 'swift identification and arrest' of the teen to 'the immediate collaboration and dedication of multiple local and federal agencies and organizations,' Sanford Police Chief Cecil Smith said, 'this fast action and team work most likely prevented a tragedy and saved multiple lives.' Police shared a photo of items taken from the teenager's home, classifying them as, 'extremely realistic Airsoft replicas.' It is not clear if they are the same weapons from the video. Superintendent of Seminole County Public Schools Serita Beamon expressed her gratitude that the potential threat was taken seriously and acted upon. 'I am so thankful for the collaborative work and relentless dedication of all the agencies involved in bringing this incident to a conclusion. The safety of our students and staff is our highest priority, and we will continue to take any potential threat seriously, and act quickly,' the police statement quoted her as saying. Less than a month ago, an Indiana teen was accused of plotting a Valentine's Day school shooting inspired by the 2018 massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. That threat was also first flagged by an anonymous tip – a call to the Sandy Hook tip line – which led authorities to online messages in which the 18-year-old suspect allegedly described planning 'Parkland part two' for 'a year,' according to authorities. The FBI was able to trace the IP address associated with the messages to the teen suspect. Four school shootings have been carried out in the US as of February 7 this year, according to CNN's analysis of events reported by the Gun Violence Archive, Education Week and Everytown for Gun Safety. Two were on K-12 school grounds, and two were on college campuses. The shootings left one person dead and at least five other victims injured. CNN's Lex Harvey, Holly Yan and Rebekah Riess contributed to this report.
CNN
10-03-2025
- CNN
Florida police arrest student after video threat to ‘shoot up' a high school
Florida police have arrested a high school student after video emerged of a potential gunman threatening to open fire at a school. The Sanford Police Department said it received an anonymous tip on Saturday 'regarding a video of an unknown male threatening to shoot up Seminole High School.' 'The video pictured the subject with multiple guns, vests, and other items of concern,' police said in a statement Sunday. Sanford police and other law enforcement worked to identify the person featured in the video. Their investigations led them to arrest a 17-year-old a day later. Police said the 17-year-old is enrolled at Elevation High School, which is also in the city of Sanford. He was taken into custody at his home without incident. He is charged with Intimidation Written/Electronic Threat of Mass Shooting/Terrorism Act. It is unknown if he has an attorney. Crediting the 'swift identification and arrest' of the teen to 'the immediate collaboration and dedication of multiple local and federal agencies and organizations,' Sanford Police Chief Cecil Smith said, 'this fast action and team work most likely prevented a tragedy and saved multiple lives.' Police shared a photo of items taken from the teenager's home, classifying them as, 'extremely realistic Airsoft replicas.' It is not clear if they are the same weapons from the video. Superintendent of Seminole County Public Schools Serita Beamon expressed her gratitude that the potential threat was taken seriously and acted upon. 'I am so thankful for the collaborative work and relentless dedication of all the agencies involved in bringing this incident to a conclusion. The safety of our students and staff is our highest priority, and we will continue to take any potential threat seriously, and act quickly,' the police statement quoted her as saying.
Yahoo
10-03-2025
- Yahoo
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
