Sanford Police arrested a 15 year old student at Seminole High School on September 12 after they say he threatened to commit a mass school shooting.
Miguel Ovidio Hernandez Aguilar, born in 2009, was charged with Intimidating Written/Electronic Threat of Mass Shooting, a second-degree felony.
Police officers were tipped off by an anonymous source, who sent screenshots of social media messages from Aguilar about becoming a school shooter.
The Sanford police report shows some of these messages included “it’s me, I told you i [sic] wanted to be the shooter,” as well as “I wanted to do it.”
Further screenshots in the police report show that Aguilar said the only reason he didn’t commit a school shooting was that the anonymous tipster was his friend, as well as Aguilar saying he wanted to buy a gun.
The tipster used FortifyFL, a suspicious activity reporting tool for students, to send these screenshots to the Sanford Police Department. By 8:30 PM, police officers had responded to Aguilar’s residence on Pinecrest Drive.
After police officers verified Aguilar’s identity and confirmed that he had sent the messages, Sanford Police had probable cause to take Aguilar into custody.
On September 13, Aguilar faced a judge on his charges. If convicted, he could face up to 15 years in prison or up to $10,000 in fines, though his status as a minor would make him eligible for a rehabilitation program.
This arrest comes after another close scare for Seminole County schools. On September 11, a Lake Brantley High School student was arrested for smuggling an unloaded firearm onto campus. That student has not been named due to his status as a minor.
The day before, on September 10, an unrelated school shooting threat was made on social media targeting Lake Brantley High School, though Altamonte Springs Police say that the threat was uncredible.
