Alachua County juvenile charged in Ohio mass shooting threat

Release from Alachua County Sheriff’s Office

ALACHUA COUNTY, Fla. – During the early afternoon of Thursday, January 8, 2026, Detectives assigned to the Intelligence Led Policing (ILP) Unit received a request for assistance from Investigators with the Lorain County Sheriff’s Office.

ILP Detectives learned that earlier in the morning, the Lorain County Sheriff’s Office responded to the threat of a mass shooting and potential explosive device placement at Columbia High School in Columbia Station, Ohio. The threat was called in to their agency by a young male who stated, “I’m about to call in a bomb threat, I’m about to run in your school and kill everyone. I’m outside with an AR-15.”

The Lorain County Sheriff’s Office, assisted by Columbia Township Fire, Lorain County Metro Parks, and Ohio State Highway Patrol, responded to the school, and after a thorough investigation, they learned that this incident was the result of a “swatting” or hoax call.

Through investigative efforts, detectives from the Lorain County Sheriff’s Office learned that the IP address attached to the Google Voice number used to make the call was registered to a home in Hawthorne.

Members of the ACSO ILP Unit immediately went to work, where they gathered additional information that led them to a home in Cross Creek, occupied by a family that includes two juvenile males. While speaking with the caregiver of both young men, Detectives learned that the voice on the recorded phone call was that of a 12-year-old boy who lives inside the home. The young man was detained and brought to the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office, where he was questioned in the presence of his guardian.

At the completion of the interview, Detectives established probable cause to charge him with the following violations of Florida State Statute:

790.163 – False report concerning planting a bomb, an explosive, or a weapon of mass destruction, or concerning the use of firearms in a violent manner.

934.215 – Unlawful use of a two-way communications device

ACSO Detectives notified the Lorain County Sheriff’s Office of the arrest before transporting the juvenile to the Department of Juvenile Justice Detention Facility.

Sheriff Scott wants to commend the collaboration between our Detectives and the Investigators with the Lorain County Sheriff’s Office, who seamlessly worked together with the common mission of holding this young man accountable for very poor actions that led to mass panic at Columbia High School.