An 18-year-old man was arrested in Florida after officials said he posted photos of himself with airsoft guns and a caption asking the Apple voice assistant Siri for “directions to the nearest school.”
The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office in a news release said they received a tip on Sunday and found that Corey Anderson “posted images of himself with what appeared to be a handgun, a rifle, and a tactical style vest.”
“The photo was distributed with the caption ‘Hey Siri, directions to the nearest school,’” officials said in the news release. Detectives later determined that the weapons were airsoft guns, which can resemble firearms but shoot nonlethal pellets.
Anderson was arrested at a residence in Lutz, Florida, which is located north of Tampa. He is facing a felony charge for a “written or electronic threat to conduct a mass shooting or act of terrorism.”
He was released from jail on Monday, according to online arrest records. Information for an attorney representing Anderson was not immediately available.
The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office declined to confirm to USA TODAY where the images were posted.
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Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister called the alleged threat “unacceptable.”
“This man intentionally instilled fear into our community as a sick joke, but be warned, this is no laughing matter,” Chronister said in the news release. “We will do everything within our power to apprehend, and pursue charges on those who make school-based threats.”
A fifth grader in Florida was also arrested after making a fake threat to commit a mass shooting, the Lee County Sheriff’s Office said. The sheriff’s office learned of the message on Saturday, and it was allegedly sent by a student at Patriot Elementary School in Cape Coral, Florida.
The arrests come after 19 children and two teachers were killed in a shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. Two of the children will be laid to rest Tuesday in the first of funeral services for the grieving Texas town.