A chilling conversation between Jackson County deputies and a 13-year-old boy, who would later allegedly commit a deadly shooting at Apalachee High School, has come to light through bodycam footage from May 2023. The boy, who denied making any threats, was interviewed by deputies after the FBI alerted authorities to potential threats he had made on the social media platform Discord.
The boy’s father, who was also present during the interview, expressed his understanding of the severity of the situation and claimed he would be furious if his son was involved in making threats. However, when questioned by deputies, the boy himself denied any involvement, stating he hadn’t been on Discord recently and hadn’t heard any threats from others on the platform.
Deputies probed the boy’s alibi, comparing his responses to those of his father, who had spoken to them just minutes earlier. The conversation took a sympathetic turn when the boy revealed he had been bullied at his previous school, prompting the deputies to encourage him to seek help from school counselors if needed.
As the interview drew to a close, the deputies urged the boy to set goals for himself and to alert his father if he heard anything about potential school threats. One deputy explicitly stated that he took the boy at his word, a decision that would later prove devastating.
Fast-forward to September 4, 2024, when the same boy, now allegedly responsible for the deaths of four people at Apalachee High School, would commit a heinous crime. The next day, his father was arrested and charged with multiple counts, including involuntary manslaughter, second-degree murder, and cruelty to children, for allegedly allowing his son to possess a weapon.
