'I'm just a very dumb person sometimes': Student explains why she made shooting threats
Catrina Petit, the 18-year-old J.P. Taravella High School student accused of threatening to shoot up a school on social media said her actions were supposed to be funny, according to a police report released Monday.
Petit's viral message that read in part, "MARK THE DATE 5/5/23 FRIDAY I WILL MAKE HISTORY AS THE TOP SCHOOL SLAUGHTER," started a panic in schools in several counties in Florida, including Volusia, and across the nation on Friday.
'Sometimes I do stuff without reasoning'
Petit, of Tamarac, used two different school computers that were not assigned to her to draft the threatening messages, according to an arrest report.
After witness testimonies made clear that Petit had gained access to those two computers during class, police officers interviewed her at her home.
Petit admitted to sending the threats. When asked what her motivations were, she said: "I don’t know, I’m just a very dumb person sometimes." She added: "Sometimes I do stuff without reasoning."
Taravella High School is in Coral Springs. Petit was being held on a $80,000 bond. Court records show she bonded out on Tuesday.
Panic hits Volusia County
The threat prompted alerts by local law officials. The Volusia Sheriff's Office wrote on Facebook that there was a post circulating about the threat but that it was not credible.
"It's a hoax, but please know that deputies, police, and school guardians are taking every potential threat seriously, and extra patrols of our school campuses will continue through the end of the school year," it said.
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The Flagler County Sheriff's Office, as well as Volusia and Flagler Schools, released statements ensuring there was no threat to students.
Several parents also posted on social media thanking police response and how they reacted to the threat.
"Have kept both of my grandsons home from school today, it's better to be safe than sorry, everyone be safe out there," wrote a poster on the Daytona Beach Police Department's page.
Petit is charged with four second-degree felony counts and 15 misdemeanor counts, records show. The four felony counts each call for up to 15 years in prison.
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Catrina Petit, arrested for school shooting threat, said she was joking
