27 July 2023 , 16:43
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This week, Florida police decided to teach an 11-year-old girl 'a lesson' after the pre-teen staged an abduction prank after watching a YouTube challenge.
The prank wasn't particularly elaborate but sparked a major alert with authorities as the 11-year-old placed texted 911 saying her 14-year-old friend had been abducted and that she was following the kidnapper's car in a blue Jeep.
According to a release from the Volusia police department: "For the next hour and a half, the girl texted updates including a description of the male suspect and that he had a gun. Ultimately, deputies were directed to a home in Port Orange by investigative means tracking the cell phone used to text 911."
An 11 year old girl was arrested in Port Orange after she made a fake abduction call to 911 (Volusia Sheriff's Office/Facebook)Authorities eventually managed to track the girl's location based on her cell phone. When they arrived, they spoke to her father, who said that his child was at home in the backyard.
The police walked through the home and into the backyard, finding the girl with her cell phone in hand. It was ringing, and on the other end was Volusia Sheriff’s Dispatch calling to verify that the deputies were on the scene.
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The child told officers that she got the idea from watching a YouTube challenge and "thought it would be funny." That's when the adult men in uniform decided it wasn't enough to just give her a warning. They had her arrested and processed at 11-years-old. She's now charged with a crime.
Sheriff Mike Chitwood was not "amused," said the police statement. “This kind of prank activity is dangerous – we’re going to investigate every incident but today, it wasted valuable resources that might have helped someone else who legitimately needed our help.”
Police decided to use their full authority to punish a child making a prank phone call to police (Volusia Sheriff's Office/Facebook)The child is charged with making a false police report concerning the use of a firearm in a violent manner, a felony, and misuse of 911, which is a misdemeanour. She was transported to the Family Resource Center for processing, then transferred to the Volusia Regional Juvenile Detention Center.
After the officers fulfilled their duties by arresting a child and ensuring she'll have a criminal record that she has to spend money to get expunged when she enters adulthood, they warned parents that it's their job to monitor what their kids are doing on social media and with their phones. The sheriff's department plans to have some seminars next week for parents in order to help understand how to help protect their kids from "internet dangers."