Lutz 18-year-old facing serious consequences for threatening mass shooting

TAMPA, Fla. - The FBI said there is often an increase in hoax threats to schools and other public places after mass shootings. Local law enforcement agencies treat these supposed jokes as real threats, and there are serious consequences. 

Corey Anderson was picked up by the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office at his Lutz home Sunday. Detectives said they received a tip that the 18-year-old posted a photo of himself with what appeared to be a handgun, a rifle and tactical vest.  The photo was captioned: "Hey Siri, directions to the nearest school."

RELATED: ‘Sick joke’: Florida man posts photo posing with weapons, asking directions to nearest school

Investigators said the firearms turned out to be air-soft weapons. Still, Anderson is facing a felony charge of a written threat to conduct a mass shooting.

"One mistake can affect your entire life, so think before you make a threat," said Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister in a school threats PSA posted in 2020.

A 2018 law amended the state statute making it a second-degree felony to write or compose a threat to conduct a mass shooting or act of terrorism and to post or transmit that threat for others to view.

"It doesn’t matter if someone says I was joking, it doesn’t matter what their intent is," Pasco County Sheriff Chris Nocco said in 2019. "When you do it, when you post it out there on social media, you’ve committed that crime."

It is against the law to send a threatening message on social media as status update, direct message, post or story, as a video, text message, or even through gaming chats or anonymous forums. These threats of violence online come with serious consequences even if they turn out to be false alarms.

"Most of the kids nowadays are using social media, so they’re using Snapchat, they’re using Instagram, they’re using Facebook," said St. Petersburg Police Lt. Carl Watts in 2018. "And sometimes kids post stuff, and they mean it as a joke, but we don’t take it as a joke, we take it very seriously."

Anyone found guilty of written threats faces up to 15 years in prison or probation, and up to a $10,000 fine.