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Snapchat tip leads to arrest of 18-year-old for “joke” post threatening to “shoot up” Buchholz during its prom

Updated on April 29 with criminal history, bail information, and release conditions.

Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Kayli Brooke Gollwitzer, 18, was arrested last night and charged with making a written threat to commit a mass shooting after Snap Inc. reportedly informed the FBI about a threat of a mass shooting posted on its Snapchat platform.

At 10 p.m. on Friday, April 26, the FBI National Threat Operations Section Exigent Threat Research and Analysis Crisis Team (EXTRACT) received information from Snap Inc. about a school shooting threat that had been posted on Snapchat. The display name for the account was “kayli gollwitzer,” and the account included Gollwitzer’s date of birth, phone number, email address, and the GPS coordinates of her home.

The post, which was made between 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. Friday night, showed a picture of several students dancing at the Buchholz High School prom (which was held at the Reitz Union on Friday night) with the words “yeah I’m shooting up the school.”

The complaint was forwarded by email to the local FBI office, and that office forwarded it to the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office Patrol Operations Division.

At about 6:32 p.m. on Saturday night, deputies made contact with Gollwitzer’s parents at their home; her parents said she had left about 20 minutes before the deputies arrived. Gollwitzer’s parents asked her to return to their home and told the deputies that Gollwitzer had recently told them that her Snapchat account had been deactivated, but she didn’t know why. Her parents said Gollwitzer does not have any access to firearms.

The deputies noted that Gollwitzer was visibly distressed when she returned to the house. Post Miranda, she admitted that she had not enjoyed herself at prom and had made the post that said “yeah I’m shooting up the school.” She said she had no intention to do that and no access to a firearm; she said it was a “joke” that she only sent to five of her closest friends, who thought it was funny. She reportedly acknowledged “the severity of the statement” and said if she had read the same post from another Snapchat user, she would believe she was in danger.

The deputies reportedly consulted with the ASO Criminal Investigations Division before deciding to arrest Gollwitzer and charge her with making a written threat to conduct a mass shooting, a felony.

Gollwitzer has no criminal history; Judge Meshon Rawls set bail at $10,000 and ordered Gollwitzer not to return to Buchholz High School, where she is a senior. Judge Rawls noted that a parent may contact the school to get her assignments. Gollwitzer is also prohibited from posting on social media and can only access the internet for school purposes with parental supervision.

Articles about arrests are based on reports from law enforcement agencies. The charges listed are taken from the arrest report and/or court records and are only accusations. All suspects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. 

  • These kids don’t realize the magnitude of their stupid impulsive behaviors.

  • Joke or no joke in today’s world you can nor say something like that. Hopefully the consequences will teach her a valuable lesson. Just because the prom didn’t work out is not an excuse. Sooner she learns that life is unfair at times you need to press on.

  • “No access to a firearm.” Like that’s been an effective deterrent.

    Now she knows, or should, that it will be another felony if she does get one.

  • Sheriff Gainey better get with is granddaughter about this kinda eastside of Gainesville backyard 🐮💩… What an idiot smh

    • What does east Gainesville have to do with this? You’re reaching and it’s not clever at all.

    • Your comment makes no sense at all. Do you speak English as a second language?

    • SHERIFF GAINEY IS AN HONORABLE MAN, CITIZEN, SHERIFF. WHAT FATHER, GRANDFATHER, UNCLE, OR WHATEVER THE RELATIONSHIP WOUND NOT DO AS MUCH AS HE COULD TO HELP OUT A FAMILY MEMBER WHO MADE A DUMB MISTAKE AND ON HER FIRST OFFENSE. THE FACT IS LOOK AT WHAT THE PREVIOUS SHERIFF HAS DONE TO KEEP HIS CRIMINAL KID OUT OF JAIL!

  • NO WAY THATS THE SHERIFF GRANDDAUGHTER!!! MIGHT BE DARNELL’S!!!! I NEED DNA!!!🤷🏾‍♂️🤷🏾‍♂️🤷🏾‍♂️

    • Nobody can understand who she is related to–I guess you have to know one to be one???

      • WE THE PEOPLE WILL NOT BE TAKING THE FALL FOR THIS ONE!!!😂😂😂 MASS SHOOTINGS IS NOT OUR M.O. 🤷🏾‍♂️🤷🏾‍♂️🤷🏾‍♂️🤷🏾‍♂️

        • @ Glad She not from the east: So, if mass shooters aren’t people, who are they? And who are you referring to as “we the people?” And, if mass shootings aren’t your “M.O.” what is?

      • Who cares about how or why she is related to Sheriff Gainey. She was treated like anyone else in similar circumstances. An investigation was done and she was charged. Sheriff Gainey did not interfere or stop his deputies from doing their job. Ut shows that he expects everyone to follow the law.

  • 18 years old and her head is up her azz just like the rest of these social media driven idiot kids , but it was just a joke? The jokes on YOU now dumbass.

  • Man I’m glad Snapchat wasn’t a thing when I was in school. I’m sure we have all made stupid comments that could’ve gotten us in trouble. I’m sure she wasn’t serious. Not that doing what she said is a joking matter. Hopefully she doesn’t get in too much trouble. She needs to be held accountable. But it’s not the end of the world.

    • GIVE HER LIFE!!! SHES A THUG IN TRAINING AND DOESNT DESERVE A SECOND CHANCE

  • She looks like someone shot up her face. Poor kid, I bet the other wee monsters made her life miserable at school. No excuse for threatening the school but perhaps a bit of an answer as to the why.

  • I’m gonna type this as a future deterrent 🤣
    Young Lady, (clears throat)…..
    There are some things you just can’t type, even with your attorney present. Especially on, or around a public school’s campus.
    Snap Chat huh? I suppose like Facebook and all the rest of the social media sites, all of your info was “there” and now it’s “all over there”….. On another site… 😝
    I’d also surmise that you’ve learned your lesson due to the ACSO deputies that came to your home. So, obviously you need to work on dealing with your emotions in “reality”, and not “digitally”. See, Your Whole Life is on that phone, and obviously,,, the “emotions” you express on that phone, got you detained and wearing a pair of handcuffs,
    and you,,, a senior at a public local high school,,, are supposed to be
    “America’s Future”….. ???
    These social media sites are getting more and more attuned to these types of comments and post. It’s “the other side” of social media. It’s also being observed, along with Legislative Statutes that are being refined, based on these types of post, one individual at a time, depending on the information the individual puts out there. I dont see it as a “conspiracy theory” or something crazy like that, I’m simply giving you factual information based in Legislative Reality.
    I’ll finally simply say,,,
    Good Luck 😉

  • This 18-year-old child is going to have to learn the hard way. She made a poor word choice. A distasteful joke without a punchline. Kids say stupid crap *all* *the* *time*. I’m guessing none of you spent any time in a Call of Duty lobby.

    No one warns you what sending a personal message to your best friends can get you. Thank you for the First Amendment. Sign away your rights to say what you want when you join the internet.

    She wasn’t bullied and the family tree is none of your business.

    All of you that feel your comments are actually necessary, keep it classy. This person has feelings and so does her family. Just wow.

    • SHERIFF GAINEY IS AN HONORABLE CITIZEN, SHERIFF. WHAT FATHER, GRANDFATHER, UNCLE, OR WHATEVER THE RELATIONSHIP WOUND NOT DO AS MUCH AS HE COULD TO HELP OUT A FAMILY MEMBER ON HER FIRST OFFENSE. THE FACT IS LOOK AT WHAT THE PREVIOUS SHERIFF HAS DONE TO KEEP HIS CRIMINAL KID OUT OF JAIL!

  • East Gainesville mad about this one.. Yall know that’s prolly pookie or ray ray girl cmon now🤣🤣🤣

  • This Young Lady is very lucky she live under this Socio/Commie regime, other places, she would probably wound up in prison

  • I do feel sorry for this young lady, had 3 of my Children go to school over at this high school, and 4 grand children, they hated the school, the school puts up with anything over there, bullying, skipping class, just a bunch of as-hole kids that were not raised as they should have been.

  • SHERIFF GAINEY IS AN HONORABLE CITIZEN, SHERIFF. WHAT FATHER, GRANDFATHER, UNCLE, OR WHATEVER THE RELATIONSHIP WOUND NOT DO AS MUCH AS HE COULD TO HELP OUT A FAMILY MEMBER ON HER FIRST OFFENSE. THE FACT IS LOOK AT WHAT THE PREVIOUS SHERIFF HAS DONE TO KEEP HIS CRIMINAL KID OUT OF JAIL!

  • doesn’t matter how it was said, in todays world you just can’t joke about that kind of stuff. Glad Snapchat has a feature that now pings stuff to police. hope she learns to choose her words better, and that some jokes just aren’t funny.

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