A 12-year-old’s online “manifesto” laid out a Columbine-style school attack so detailed that Florida deputies moved in before anyone had a chance to find out the hard way.
Quick Take
- Volusia County deputies arrested a 12-year-old Southwestern Middle School student after a tip flagged a posted, step-by-step school shooting plan.
- Investigators say the writing identified specific student and teacher targets and described tactics for carrying out an attack.
- Authorities credited anonymous reporting—specifically Fortify Florida—with stopping the threat early.
- The child faces felony charges tied to written threats and misuse of electronic communication, according to reporting and sheriff’s statements.
Arrest follows anonymous tip about a posted 13-step plan
Volusia County authorities arrested 12-year-old Josephine Simmons-Peters, a student at Southwestern Middle School in DeLand, Florida, after an anonymous report alerted investigators to an online post describing a planned mass shooting. The tip came in late February, and deputies took the student into custody in the early morning hours. Officials say the document read like an operational plan, not a vague threat, and it prompted a rapid law-enforcement response focused on prevention.
Investigators said the manifesto included named targets—students and a teacher—and referenced prior mass shootings as a model. Sheriff Mike Chitwood described the writing as “well thought out,” with tactical details that required redaction in media accounts because of graphic language. Authorities also said this was not the student’s first threat-related episode, but previous incidents did not rise to the same level of specificity, planning, and scope described in the online post.
What investigators say motivated the threat
According to investigators’ summaries, the student pointed to a mix of school conflict and personal grievance—academic frustration and peer problems—as drivers of the planning. Reporting indicates the student received a failing grade on a test from a teacher later named in the document. The student also alleged bullying by specific classmates; when interviewed, the named students acknowledged teasing. Those details matter because they show how everyday school discipline and social conflict can be weaponized in a mind already fixated on notoriety and revenge.
Authorities said the manifesto went beyond anger and into logistics, including steps for timing, concealment, and getting weapons into the school. Deputies also reported that a friend was mentioned in the writing, but later statements indicated the student was the sole planner. Officials have not publicly detailed what websites hosted the content beyond noting the manifesto was removed after discovery while some associated account traces remained visible. Law enforcement also reported no firearms were found at the residence during the investigation.
Fortify Florida and the case for citizen reporting over bureaucracy
The most consequential fact in this case is that it appears to have been stopped by a tip—before a would-be attacker could move from screen to classroom. Deputies credited Fortify Florida, a state-associated anonymous reporting channel designed for school threats, as the pathway that brought the post to law enforcement’s attention. For families tired of institutions that talk about “safety” while ignoring obvious warning signs, this case underscores that fast reporting and decisive intervention protect children more reliably than slogan-driven programs.
The legal stakes and the limits of what’s known so far
The student faces multiple felony charges, including written threats to kill and misuse of a two-way communication device, based on reporting tied to the arrest and investigators’ accounts. Because the case involves a juvenile, public documentation and court proceedings may remain limited compared to adult cases. Reporting also noted a minor discrepancy in how the child was described—one account referenced a different gender identity than how arrest reports referred to the student—an unresolved detail that does not change the core public-safety issue: the plan’s specificity and the urgency of stopping it.
Parents in Volusia County are left with the same bottom-line concern families nationwide share: schools can’t become places where online radicalization, grievance culture, and detailed violence fantasies are treated as “phases” until tragedy forces action. This incident points to a clear, constitutional line that should unite communities—protecting innocent life through lawful intervention—while keeping the focus on early detection, accountable discipline, and real consequences for credible threats, regardless of age.
Sources:
https://www.fox35orlando.com/news/volusia-county-school-shooting-threat-plan-teacher-students
