INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — False reports made through a school safety app led to the arrest of a high school student following an investigation by school resource deputies, a law enforcement official said.
The high school, name and grade of the student were withheld by officials who said Oct. 24 the student had submitted roughly four false reports through the FortifyFL app within the last week.
The student submitted them using a false name or was claiming to be another person while submitting the false reports, said Capt. Joe Abollo.
Abollo said the arrest of the student followed shortly after school deputies were notified of the claims, which he said are a form of indirect harassment and were described in a law enforcement social media post as intended to “harass, threaten, and cause emotional distress to other students and staff.”
“It was quick,” said Abollo, of the investigation and arrest. “We started working on it as soon as we saw the Fortify tip.”
FortifyFL was created in the wake of the 2018 Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shootings and is a state-operated school security app used by the district.
The student was charged with four misdemeanor counts of making a false report or knowingly giving false information to law enforcement officers of an alleged crime, and a single charge of stalking, following harassing or cyberstalking another. The student was taken to the Department of Juvenile Justice in Fort Pierce, Abollo said.
Corey Arwood is a breaking news reporter for TCPalm. Follow Corey on Twitter @coreyarwood, or reach him by phone at 772-978-2246.
This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: High school student arrested after investigation into false FortifyFL reports
Reporting by Corey Arwood, Treasure Coast Newspapers / Treasure Coast Newspapers
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