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Arrest Made In Connection With Gateway Charter School Threats

Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno speaks at a press conference held Dec. 2, 2020.
Lee County Sheriff's Office Facebook Live video
Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno speaks at a press conference held Dec. 2, 2020.

An arrest has been made in connection with a threat made last month to commit a mass shooting at a Fort Myers high school.

On Wednesday Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno held a press conference to announce Gateway Charter School eighth grader Jacob Murphy has been charged with two counts of written threats to commit a mass shooting and one count of disruption of a school function.

"Our detectives executed a search warrant in his home and because of the digital footprint that is left on our computer, our technology was able to build that case that led to the arrest today," Marceno said.

Marceno said about 100 law enforcement units were deployed to Gateway Charter School Nov. 13 after being notified of the two mass shooting threats.

Andrea Perdomo is a reporter for WGCU News. She started her career in public radio as an intern for the Miami-based NPR station, WLRN. Andrea graduated from Florida International University, where she was a contributing writer for the student-run newspaper, The Panther Press, and was also a member of the university's Society of Professional Journalists chapter.
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