A 14-year-old Matanzas High School student was arrested Tuesday after deputies say he sent a Snapchat video of himself holding a gun and threatened to kill two classmates during an online argument. School officials reported the clip after a lunchtime scuffle spilled over from social media, and a school resource deputy took the teen into custody on campus. According to law enforcement, the student said the firearm shown in the video belonged to his father.
What Deputies Say Happened
On the afternoon of Feb. 23, the Matanzas High dean notified school resource deputies that written statements from two students described earlier threats made over Snapchat. Deputies say the students told investigators the teen had sent a video of himself holding a firearm and warned one victim he would "put a bullet through his stomach" and another that he would "put a bullet in his head."
The Flagler County Sheriff's Office identified the suspect as 14-year-old Lincoln Cottle of Flagler Beach. He was charged with written or electronic threats to kill or do bodily injury and processed at Sheriff Perry Hall before being turned over to the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice, according to the Flagler County Sheriff's Office.
Officials Respond
Sheriff Rick Staly did not mince words about the seriousness of the case, stressing that the law does not give kids a pass just because threats are made behind a screen.
"Regardless of age, threatening to kill someone is a felony and is not something that we tolerate," Staly said, urging parents to keep a closer eye on what their kids are doing online.
Flagler Schools Superintendent LaShakia Moore echoed that message, saying, "Student safety is a priority that doesn't end at the classroom door," and asking families to remind students that threats "are never a joke or a game." Both statements were included in the Flagler County Sheriff's Office release.
School Safety And Reporting
According to WKMG ClickOrlando, deputies said the Snapchat threats grew out of an online spat that began after the teen used a derogatory term about a female student.
The outlet also reports that students and parents can respond to potential threats by calling the sheriff’s non-emergency line at 386-313-4911, notifying a school resource deputy or staff member on campus, or sending a tip through the FortifyFL app.
A Wider Pattern In Flagler County
The arrest is the latest in a string of social media fueled threats in Flagler County this month.
WESH reported that on Feb. 5 a 13-year-old was arrested after allegedly sending Snapchat threats involving Indian Trails Middle School. In another incident, People covered the case of an 11-year-old arrested after authorities say she wrote a bathroom wall message referencing a shooting.
Both of those cases prompted quick investigations and juvenile referrals, underscoring how seriously local authorities are treating school-related threats, whether they show up on a wall or in a disappearing social media clip.
