Teen arrested for alleged social media threat to kill classmate

ST. PETERSBURG (FOX 13) - A 17-year-old girl has been arrested after Pinellas County detectives say she threatened to shoot a fellow student during a live social media video.

Pinellas County Sheriff's Office investigators say the report was made by the mother of the teen who was targeted in the alleged threat. 

Investigators say the suspect, 17-year-old Amari Johnson, told the teen, female victim to watch the live video she would post on May 1.

In the video, Johnson made threatening statements toward the victim while holding "what appeared to be an AR-15 style rifle," the sheriff's office said.

"Let me just let you [expletive] know, I stay strapped on go, 24 [expletive] 7," Johnson said in the video, according to investigators.

The sheriff's office said the video also shows Johnson saying, "A fat [expletive] AR" and "I'll shoot your dumb [expletive]."

The victim apparently commented on Johnson's video. Johnson responded by threatening to shoot and kill her, investigators say.

The victim tells investigators she has been bullied by Amari Johnson in the past. They both attend Bayside High School.

Johnson was arrested at her home in St. Petersburg on Wednesday. Deputies say her mother was cooperative with the investigation and deputies confirmed that the teen did not have access to firearms in her home.

The location of the gun seen in Johnson's video was not determined.

Amari Johnson faces charges of threats to kill or do bodily injury - electronic communication.