TARPON SPRINGS, Fla. – An 11-year-old student at Tarpon Springs Middle School was arrested on Monday after allegedly making written threats to commit a mass shooting. The Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office announced the arrest following an investigation into disturbing messages and images shared in a group chat with two other students.
According to detectives, Justin Lamanna sent a photo of himself wearing a ski mask and tactical vest, along with a message stating he was “about to go to 8th period.”
He also shared a video of himself appearing to hold and point a shotgun while making threatening statements, “this how we going to light them up like the Fourth of July boys.”
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Detectives from the Threat Management Division quickly identified Lamanna and brought him in for questioning. Although Lamanna claimed the messages and video were a joke, authorities took the threats seriously, leading to his arrest on one count of Written Threats to Commit a Mass Shooting.
The Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office encourages anyone with information about potential threats to contact them at (727) 582-6200 or through the FortifyFL app at https://getfortifyfl.com.
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