Multiple Manatee County Students Arrested for Making School Threats

In a swift response to serious safety concerns, Manatee County deputies have arrested multiple students from different schools today for making written threats to kill, emphasizing the zero-tolerance approach to school violence.

The first arrest occurred at Buffalo Creek Middle School this morning when 11-year-old sixth grader Cameron Kelly was taken into custody. The incident began after the school administration was alerted to a threat made the previous night (September 17th) between students on an instant messaging app. In a written message to a fellow student, Kelly stated, "Be ready for tomorrow, I will kill u bruh." Upon arriving at school, Kelly was confronted by deputies and her belongings were searched. No weapons were found, but she admitted to making the threat. She has been charged with "written/electronic threats to kill," a second-degree felony.

At Lakewood Ranch Preparatory Academy, two 14-year-old students are also in custody after threatening violence. Deputies began investigating late Tuesday evening after a Snapchat message was shared regarding an alleged fight in the school gym with the chilling words, "I'm shooting up the school at 9:00." Security was heightened at the school Wednesday morning as deputies investigated the source of the threat. Their investigation led to Emilia VanKirk, who admitted to creating the post, and Felipe Wnuk, who also confessed to writing a separate post about killing classmates. Both teens face felony charges of "written/electronic threats to kill."

Manatee County Sheriff Rick Wells issued a stern warning to students and parents. "Students must understand the seriousness of making threats about school violence. Make no mistake about it, if we have evidence that a student made a threat to kill, we will arrest them and take them to the Juvenile Detention Center," said Wells. "I encourage parents to remind their children of the consequences of making school threats."

In light of these arrests, deputies will continue to provide additional security at all schools when threats are reported, underscoring the need for vigilance in preventing potential school violence.