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On Monday, Florida authorities arrested 10-year-old Daniel Isaac Marquez for allegedly threatening to attack his school. Marquez, a primary school student, reportedly texted his friend an image of four rifles he said he had bought.
Daniel Marquez, a fifth-grader at Patriot Elementary school in Cape Coral, was arrested for making a mass shooting threat. While the minor's crime may seem like a joke, he was arrested and made viral in a Facebook post by Florida authorities, who have used him to set an example for other children who do not take gun violence seriously. The sheriff's office also released his mugshot.
Marquez was arrested after the text message was forwarded to authorities by a tipster. Marquez's threats came on the heels of the massacre in Uvalde, the deadliest shooting in Texas history.
What was the threat made by Daniel Isaac Marquez?
Daniel Isaac Marquez was arrested due to a specific text conversation he had with another child at his school. According to NBC, Marquez reportedly told his friend he had made money by scamming another student, something which he tried to prove through a Google image of a wad of cash.
Following this, Marquez sent his friend an image of four assault rifles he claimed to have purchased.
His text read:
“Get ready for water day.”
Water day was a reference to a school event where students participate in water activities, implying that it was his day of choice to supposedly carry out an attack.
Response by Florida authorities
While some may perceive Marquez’s comment as a joke, Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno justified the hardline response in an interview with W radio in Colombia, explaining that he was not willing to take any risks in the matter.
He said:
“I did a campaign: Fake threat, real consequence. While I understand the boy is 10 years old, his brain’s not fully developed, he’s a juvenile, I have to tell you: When a 10-year-old presses a trigger, the aftermath is the same regardless of age.”
Marceno also explained that in light of the Robb Elementary school attack, he knew that these threats needed to be investigated.
According to NBC, Marceno said:
“This student’s behaviour is sickening, especially after the recent tragedy in Uvalde, Texas. Making sure our children are safe is paramount. We will have law and order in our schools. My team didn’t hesitate one second to investigate thre threat.”
While police found no evidence that Daniel Isaac Marquez possessed any firearms, Marceno was unwavering in his approach.
He said:
“We don’t wait 1 second. We investigate every threat as if it’s real.”
He added:
“So, what we need to do is, I beg the parents to sit with your children… We need to do everything we can as a team to prevent these types of issues and not ignore the red flags.”
According to the New York Post, Daniel Isaac Marquez was charged as a juvenile with making a written threat to conduct a mass shooting.
