FLAGLER COUNTY, Fla. — The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office arrested a 14-year-old girl on felony charges last week, after she posted a Snapchat video containing violent threats targeting students at a high school in her former school district in Ohio, according to police. 

On January 23, the FCSO Communications Center was contacted by an officer from the Logan Police Department in Ohio regarding a seemingly credible online threat made by a 14-year-old Palm Coast resident. The video, posted publicly on Snapchat, featured the girl using racial slurs and making explicit threats of violence, including statements about harming members of the LGBTQ+ community, police said. 

FCSO says they determined that the video was viewed by many students at the Ohio school and caused alarm among students, parents and employees. They concluded that the threats were intentional and motivated by “bias against a protected class,” specifically members of the LGBTQ+ community. 

On January 24, the teen was arrested for written or electronic threats to kill with a hate crime enhancement. Under Florida law, your charges can be enhanced if the crime is based on the “race, color, ancestry, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, national origin, homeless status or advanced age of the victim.” 

She was booked into Sheriff Perry Hall Inmate Detention Facility and transported to the Volusia County Juvenile Detention Center.

“We will not tolerate any threat of violence, especially those that are made with hate and prejudice,” said Sheriff Rick Staly. “If you threaten to hurt or kill someone just because of what they look like, where they’re from, or who they love, we will arrest you no matter how old you are. Parents, I urge you to be the Sheriff in your home and teach your children that all people are created equally and hating someone just because they are different than you is not acceptable behavior. Know what your children are posting before you find out when we show up at your door to arrest your child.”