VOLUSIA COUNTY Fla. — Over the past week, law enforcement agencies across Florida have been dealing with a spike in school threats. 

According to the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office, on Thursday night and early Friday morning, two Heritage Middle School students, ages 13 and 14, were arrested and accused of posting threats on TikTok and Instagram to commit a school shooting. The sheriff’s office said it is also investigating another individual.

Both students are charged with making written threats to kill, which is a felony.

On Friday afternoon, leaders with Volusia County Schools and the sheriff’s office hosted a news conference where they emphasized students’ safety and security as their top priority. They investigate all threats, but warned students and parents about the consequences of spreading false tips on social media.

Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood sent a message to parents.

“Parents, if you don't wanna raise your kids, I’m gonna start raising them," he said. "Every time we make an arrest, your kid's photo is going to be put out there and if I could do it, I’m going to perp walk your kid so that everybody can see what your kid's up to."

He said that since Thursday night, the office has received more than 54 tips on Fortify Florida about threats to schools, costing the county $21,000 to investigate them. Chitwood said Florida law allows the cost of these investigations to be charged to the parents of the juvenile defendants.

“The tip that came in today, overwhelmingly it's the same, it's the same tip where somebody kept hitting sent, sent, sent, sent, sent, sent, sent, sent, sent, saying the same exact same exact thing,” Chitwood said.

The sheriff’s office said students should be aware that all threats are taken seriously by law enforcement, and threats from “anonymous” accounts can be traced, even if the post and the account itself are deleted.  The sheriff’s office will pursue criminal charges to the full extent of the law in every case possible. Threats meant as “jokes” are no exception, authorities said.

According to the sheriff, no credible threats to any Volusia County schools have been identified. 

DeLand resident Angela Bowen is a mom of four. She said that on Friday morning, one of her children who goes to DeLand Middle School was sent a picture showing there was a police presence on campus following a threat.

“It's very frightening, scary. I have three in middle school, one in elementary. When you get them calls or messages, you just don't know what to think. With what happened in Georgia just last week. It's very frightening,” Bowen said.

Bowen said every day when she sends her kids to school, there’s the one question no parent wants to think of: “Will I see them alive at the end of the day or while I get that phone call?”

Director of Safety and Security Capt. Todd Smith said each of these threats causes disruption, alarm and a major consumption of the law enforcement resources, which results in a loss of instructional time.

“The curriculum is built based on the number of hours that they're in school, so if we're shutting down our schools to try to protect the kids because some kids made a false tip, it's interrupting their ability to learn,” Smith said.

So far this year Sheriff Chitwood said they have received 207 tips of threats through Fortify Florida. Eleven weapons have been found on school campuses, and seven people have been arrested for written threats to kill.

“We have to be very careful about what we put on social media and don't believe everything you hear. Just because somebody says it doesn't make it the truth,” Volusia County Schools Chief of Staff John Cash said.

According to Volusia County schools, they have over 30 school resource deputies on campuses, as well as metal detectors during athletic events and randomized screenings.

“It’s a deterrent, if this exercise stops one student from bringing a weapon on this campus, it’s worth it,” Cash said.

As part of their tools to keep students safe, Sheriff Chitwood said they will be adding a weapons detention K9 in November.  

They also emphasized their message is not meant to dissuade anyone from reporting a tip about a possible threat, even if the threat turns out to be a hoax. The Sheriff’s Office and School District continue to encourage students to “See Something, Say Something” and allow authorities to fully investigate every potential threat.