Florida Keys teen arrested for calling in Oasis Middle School threat

Reporter: Zach Oliveri Writer: Matthew Seaver
Published: Updated:
Cape Coral police
Cape Coral police

A 16-year-old from Islamorada, Florida is under arrest after police say they left a bomb threat voicemail at Oasis Middle School.

According to Cape Coral police, the teen, who claimed to be an Oasis Middle School student, said they would come to school on March 30 armed with a ‘suicide vest’, M16s, and would throw pipe bombs into classrooms.

Detectives with Cape Coral Police Department’s Major Crimes Unit were able to determine that the threat was not credible, not made by an Oasis Middle School student, after an incident in an online first-person shooter video game.

“I guess they just don’t know any better. You know the maturity level is not there,” said Alan Bahnam, an Oasis Middle School parent.

Parents like Bahnam were shocked to hear about this threat.

When the call was made on March 19, Cape Coral police’s major crimes started investigating. Investigators interviewed the student they believed made the call and quickly realized they had the wrong kid.

“We interviewed the person he was supposedly and he’s like I didn’t make that call. Then we were able to figure out where that call was coming from and why maybe someone might have made that call,” said Cape Coral Police Sergeant Julie Green.

According to police, the teen was upset because of allegations of infidelity and came up with a plan to ruin the life and reputation of a student who attends Oasis Middle School.

What helped investigators were conversations the boys had on the Discord app.

“They didn’t know each other personally but because they were sharing these personal things back and forth we were able to identify that person a little bit more quickly,” said Green.

Cape Coral police worked with the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office. Deputies went to the teen’s home in Islamorada where he confessed.

“People in just, in general, they just you know bad choices in life I guess. You know and sometimes it could be detrimental to their future,” said Bahnam.

WINK News Safety and Security Specialist Rich Kolko says parents need to make sure their kids know what’s said online has real-world consequences. “Something they can do online even if they have no intent can be dangerous, can lead to an arrest, can change their entire life,” said Kolko.

The teen is facing charges for threatening to throw, place, or discharge a destructive device.

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