Earlier this year, a middle school student from Florida found himself arrested and facing adult charges. Authorities stated this week that Julian Davis, just 14 years old, allegedly crafted his own firearms and explosives at home. His intent, according to law enforcement, was to use these creations for a robbery.
The investigation into Davis and his 13-year-old accomplice was launched on April 27. Deputies from St. Johns County Sheriff’s Department received an unsettling tip: the boys had been corresponding on Telegram, planning to hold someone at gunpoint for a robbery, as detailed in an arrest report.
Texts exchanged between the two young teens, both students at Switzerland Point Middle School, reportedly included plans for constructing a shotgun and a musket. They also mentioned acquiring zip ties, according to the arrest details.
For the first time, Sheriff Robert Hardwick and federal investigators spoke publicly about the case at a Friday press conference. They explained that charging Davis, a young boy reportedly fascinated by school shooters, may have averted a potential “tragedy” within the school and the community at large.
A booking photo of Julian Davis, the 14-year-old middle schooler who, according to authorities, was orchestrating an armed robbery with homemade weapons. (St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office)
Davis was arrested on April 30 and charged as an adult with multiple firearms and explosives offenses. Davis and his 13-year-old friend were both charged with conspiracy to commit a robbery with a firearm. The younger boy was not charged as an adult and is therefore not being identified by News Media.
Between April 27 and 30, sheriff’s deputies and federal agents conducted multiple searches of Davis’ home, finding three homemade firearms, ammunition, suspected explosive components and makeshift handcuffs.
Also found in Davis’ home were handwritten notes depicting the construction of weapons and an apparent drawing of what appeared to be a Molotov cocktail, according to photos released by the sheriff’s department.
Searches also revealed a tactical vest with “White supremacy drawings” and a copy of the manifesto of Brenton Tarrant, a White supremacist who in 2019 went on shooting sprees at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, killing 51 people.
Homemade shotguns found in Davis’ Florida home during a searches by sheriff’s deputies and federal agents in late April. (St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office)
Other items of concern found by authorities in Davis’ home included a U.S. Army improvised munitions handbook and a copy of “The Anarchist Cookbook,” a 1971 book that contains instructions on how to make explosives, weapons and illicit drugs.
Hardwick said Davis and his friend had planned to rob someone named CJ, though investigators have been unable to determine who CJ is.
Based on this evidence, plus online searches by Davis, Hardwick said there was a “much bigger picture than just a robbery of that individual.”
Ammunition found in Davis’ home during searches by law enforcement officials. (St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office)
“Davis was using his devices in his home to research things. He had a [fixation] with people that had committed these mass school shootings, people that have gone in and done these mass stabbings,” Sheriff Hardwick said. “So, he was actually spending a lot of his time on there going through these high-profile cases. And it’s something that he actually wanted to emulate.”
Davis is still in custody at the St. Johns County Jail on a $240,000 bond, the sheriff said. He pleaded not guilty to the charges against him and is scheduled to be arraigned again next month after additional charges were filed.
News Media reached out to Davis’ attorney for comment.
A photo released by the St. Johns Sheriff’s Department of a homemade pistol and brass knuckles found in Davis’ home. (St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office)
Davis’ friend, with whom he was texting about the alleged robbery, spent 21 days in the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice before being released, the sheriff said.
Neither of the boys will be allowed to return to their school. St. Johns County School District Deputy Superintendent Paul Abbatinozzi clarified that there was never a direct threat to Switzerland Point Middle School.
The tip about the boys’ alleged activities was initially submitted to the school through FortifyFL, a platform created after the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting designed to identify potential threats from suspicious students.