A 16-year-old Palm Coast girl is facing felony charges after investigators say she repeatedly abused a statewide school safety app to fabricate shooting threats against two schools, her own family and her home. Lilyana Blanco was arrested on Sept. 16 and accused of submitting a string of false FortifyFL tips designed to trigger swatting responses, according to the Flagler County Sheriff's Office.
FortifyFL is described as a suspicious activity reporting tool designed to help keep schools safe, according to the Flagler County Sheriff's Office. Investigators said Blanco instead used the app to submit a series of tips alleging violence by herself, her family members and other students in order to provoke swatting incidents, a claim first detailed in the sheriff's office's announcement of her arrest. As WKMG reported, the teen now faces felony allegations tied to a monthslong pattern of fabricated emergencies.
A Threat Against a School, Then Another From Inside the Same House
On Aug. 13, a FortifyFL tip claimed Blanco's sibling had a firearm and had been instructed to shoot up the lunchroom at Rymfire Elementary School, according to the news release. While detectives were at Blanco's home interviewing her mother about that tip, another FortifyFL submission claimed someone was headed to Flagler Palm Coast High School to shoot it up. Investigators traced both tips back to devices inside the residence, and detectives determined the high school threat was a hoax, with the sheriff's office saying Blanco sent the second tip from a second device while detectives were still in her home.
Detectives returned to the residence on Aug. 19 with a search warrant and seized numerous electronic devices, per the sheriff's office. A forensic review of the recovered equipment confirmed that Blanco's phone had been used to submit the false FortifyFL tips. After that search, the sheriff's office said Blanco's mother purchased her a new cellphone despite knowing her daughter's history of making false claims, a detail Sheriff Rick Staly specifically called out in the release.
Family Became a Target, Then the Threat Escalated
The investigation did not end with the search warrant. On Sept. 14, another FortifyFL tip alleged that Blanco planned to kill her family and burn down her home that night, and that she had considered killing someone at her school earlier that day before deciding against it, the sheriff's office said. Detectives traced that threat back to Blanco as well, though she denied making it. Investigators eventually took her into custody at the Palm Coast Landings shopping center two days later and transported her to the Volusia Family Resource Center.
Staly said Blanco repeatedly and dangerously abused a school safety tool to cause fear, chaos and wasted time, according to the sheriff's office's statement. The agency said it has dedicated more than 300 hours investigating her baseless threats, resources that could otherwise have gone toward legitimate safety concerns across the county.
Charges and What Comes Next
Blanco was charged with making a false report about planting a bomb, explosive or weapon of mass destruction, a second-degree felony, along with unlawful use of a two-way communications device. Under Florida law, using a two-way communications device to facilitate or further a felony is itself a third-degree felony. She was turned over to the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice, and the sheriff's office said the investigation could lead to additional charges.
The Criminal Intelligence Unit is continuing to investigate numerous other false reports believed to be linked to Blanco dating back to October 2025, according to the release. Detectives are also assisting investigators from multiple other agencies looking into similar swatting incidents targeting schools and residents in other jurisdictions, though the sheriff's office has not identified which agencies or locations are involved.
Not an Isolated Case in Florida
Blanco's arrest follows a similar case in the Panhandle, where Bay County deputies arrested 14-year-old Alexander “AJ” Nichols after what WJHG described as a series of swatting incidents, vehicle fires and other online criminal activity. Investigators said Nichols admitted to participating in swatting incidents involving Six Flags Magic Mountain in California and a school in Ohio, and he was separately charged with five counts of arson after allegedly setting a car fire that damaged seven vehicles.
Federal officials have flagged swatting as a growing nationwide problem. The FBI has described it as an ongoing threat affecting schools, government buildings, hospitals and other public locations across the country, according to the Internet Crime Complaint Center. Separate federal education guidance notes that swatters are increasingly targeting public institutions, especially schools, as these hoaxes continue to drain law enforcement resources and rattle communities far beyond Flagler County.
