Crime & Public Safety
Naples private school threatened in social-media post; student arrested, police call hoax
A 15-year-old student was arrested after officers from the Naples Police Department responded to a threat posted to social media directed at a private school in Naples. Police say the department responded to the Freedom Institute on South Horseshoe Drive Tuesday morning after a post stating, “I'm actually going to cause death everyone in this school.”
Officers arrived at the scene and searched the school property and surrounding areas. Investigators determined there was no active attack underway and later characterized the incident as a hoax. Police took the student into custody at the school and transported her to department headquarters for questioning.
The arrest was made on a charge of written/electronic threat to cause death or conduct a mass shooting, a second-degree felony, according to the Naples Police Department. Detectives handled the investigation and confirmed no ongoing threat to students or staff during their search of the campus.
Police communicated to the public that the matter was being treated seriously and that the reported threat was found to be not executable at the time of their response. The arrested juvenile was later transported to the Collier County Jail and remains in law enforcement custody pending criminal process, per agency statements.
All individuals accused of a crime are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.
More Collier County news · Request a correction or case update
All individuals mentioned in criminal allegations are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.