'Shooting Nov 14': 12-Year-Old Student Arrested After Allegedly Writing Threat in School Bathroom

A middle school student was arrested after a threatening message was discovered written on the wall of one of the bathrooms.

A student at Cypress Lake Middle School in Fort Myers, Florida, was arrested on Tuesday after she confessed to making a written threat in school. Newsweek does not share the name of minors unless they're being charged as an adult.

In an effort to determine the source of the written threat, the Lee County Sheriff's Office sent officers to the middle school to speak with students, according to the press release. After students were addressed, a 12-year-old student confessed to having written the threat, according to a press release from the Lee County Sheriff's Office.

The student was charged with one felony count of a written threat to do bodily harm or mass shooting and booked at the Juvenile Assessment Center (JAC).

"The act of making a threat of something as serious as a school shooting is no joking matter, and as this young lady is finding out today, it is, in fact, a serious crime," Trish Routte, Crime Stoppers Coordinator, said in the release. "We hope that parents will seize this opportunity to have a discussion with their children about the repercussions of these bad choices and the impacts that will have long lasting effects on their lives."

On November 14, it was discovered that someone wrote "shooting Nov 14" inside one of the handicap stalls in the girls' bathroom, according to Southwest Florida Crime Stoppers. Officers investigated the incident and after interviewing students, deemed the threat to be non-credible.

At the time, Routte explained that even if the threat is not credible, it's still unacceptable because false threats tie up resources that could be used for authentic emergencies.

"There are repercussions to these irresponsible actions and students needs to be aware that consequences will accompany any false threats made to a school," Routte said.

On Monday, another middle school student in Anchorage, Alaska, was arrested for writing a threatening message in one of the girls' bathrooms. The threat said there would be a shooting at Begich Middle School during second period, according to KTUU. A student, who was not named, was arrested by Anchorage police officers and charged with making terroristic threats and criminal mischief.

The Anchorage School District sent an email to parents, according to KTUU, that explained the threat was made as an alleged prank and the student didn't plan on carrying out an attack. However, the school said the student would face consequences in school, as well as any legal consequences.