In depth: How law enforcement responds to threats

DELTONA, Fla. (FOX 35 ORLANDO) - A Deltona middle school student was arrested for making a shooting threat Monday --  an incident authorities learned through a parent, according to an arrest report.

The deputy was told the student was laying on the floor in sixth period when they were having an "episode" and told his teacher "I'm going to shoot up the school with my AK," according to the arrest report.

The report states the student is part of the school's Emotionally Behaviorally Disabled program. The deputy contacted the teacher who said he heard the student say, "I'm gonna get my AK," according to the report.

The teacher said he notified officials at the school such as a campus advisor, the assistant principal and believed the school guard was present, the report reads. However, the report mentions that the Director of School Safety said law enforcement was not contacted at the time of the incident. 

The News Station asked the Volusia County School District why authorities weren't contacted. A spokesperson said our questions are part of the district's investigation into the matter.

We asked if there's a protocol in place for these types of situation. The spokesperson said, "law enforcement would be notified as part of the safety assessment and intervention protocol."

The district said it's looking into if the school failed to follow that protocol.  Meanwhile, parents like Jerrica Claypool think law enforcement should be notified immediately. 

"You never know whether a kid is having a bad day and is actually going to take that joke to another level," she said.

Parents we spoke to said they received a robocall informing them about the incident Wednesday evening.  The student was charged with "threat to discharge a destructive device," a felony.

The News Station talked with the Volusia County Sheriff's Office about how it responds to threats.

Sheriff Mike Chitwood said his agency is contacted in most cases if not all to investigate.

"Ninety-nine percent of the time the school contacts us. Sometimes principals take it upon themselves to not contact us and that is of grave concern to me," he said.

He said an investigation helps determines how credible the threat is.

"We're not playing around. We can't discern who may or may not be a shooter. If you make the threat, there's a high probability you're going to end up getting arrested," he said.

The sheriff explains an arrest doesn't always end in a criminal sanction.

"The school, the state attorney all take a look at the kid and decide what column does he get moved into," he explained.

Either the student goes to teen court where they will likely get help from behavior programs. Or, a criminal investigation is launched.

"Is it somebody who is a certified gang member, who's posing on Facebook with guns, who has gotten arrested before with guns in which case they're gonna go down the criminal path," he said.

In the case at Galaxy Middle School, the arrest report mentions the 13-year-old boy was part of the school's Emotionally Behaviorally Disturbed program or EBD.

During his arrest, the boy's mother said she believed he would benefit from getting help, according to the report.