UMATILLA, Fla.—A social media challenge ended in the arrest of a Umatilla Middle School student after he stood up in class and yelled there was a bomb earlier this week.
The boy, 11, stood up in his second period class shortly before 10:30 a.m. Wednesday and reportedly said “There is a bomb on campus,” according to an arrest affidavit. Inside Lake is not naming the boy due to his age.
He was taken to the main office, and he said he made it up because of a TikTok. He told the school resource deputy an “app on TikTok has you yell out statements to get points in their accounts,” the affidavit states. He said it was a joke and there was not a bomb on campus.
The 6th grade building, gym and lunchroom were evacuated, and a search was performed to ensure a bomb was not on campus. Nothing was found, according to the affidavit.
The boy was arrested for disruption of a school function and making a false bomb threat; he was transported to the Lake County Jail and turned over to the Department of Juvenile Justice.
