GREEN COVE SPRINGS, FL- The FBI, under the leadership of Director Kash Patel, is being credited with preventing a mass shooting after the agency received a tip that a Roblox user was planning to carry out the shooting at a local school, the Green Cove Springs Police Department told First Coast News.
In a Facebook post, FBI Jacksonville announced that in a joint investigation with local law enforcement partners, two separate threats of mass violence were prevented.
“FBI Jacksonville received a threat to life involving a Clay County school, and working quickly with our law enforcement partners, helped prevent potential violence.”
According to the Green Cove Springs Police Department, they were quickly able to identify the Roblox user as a 14-year-old Clay High student, who lives in the city. The suspect was arrested and taken to the Duval Regional Juvenile Detention Center, the department said. Due to his age, he was not identified.
The suspect faces a charge of written or electronic threats to kill, do bodily injury, or conduct a mass shooting or an act of terrorism.
‘The Green Cove Springs Police Department and the Clay County School District take all threats involving our schools seriously,’ the agency said in a release. “Threats of violence will not be tolerated.”
Director Patel released a statement on X:
“Our people move FAST.
“Working with our state and local law enforcement partners, the information was immediately acted on, the individual was identified, and an arrest was made before any reported violence occurred.
“This is exactly what happens when law enforcement works together—intelligence moves, cops act, and our kids are protected.
“We will continue using every lawful tool and every partnership we have to find these threats and STOP them before they become tragedies.”
In the other incident, a Clay County man was arrested after authorities investigated repeated threats targeting the Jewish community, according to a federal complaint, reported News 4 Jax.
In a criminal complaint lodged in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, Duncan MacDonald is charged with interstate transmission of a threat to injure another person.
MacDonald allegedly posted four Instagram videos between Sept. 16 and Sept. 17 picturing firearms, ammunition, tactical gear, and other equipment inside a residence. The person recording the videos threatened Jewish people and referenced Adolf Hitler. The person also discussed a flamethrower, a .50 caliber rifle, and loaded ammunition magazines.
In the video, a man who was not visible said, “You know, you need those, because we’re over here gonna hunt Jews. We’re gonna, you know, take them out because the Austrian painter [Hitler] was correct.”
According to an FBI special agent, MacDonald appeared in the fourth video and was identified through a comparison with his Florida’s driver’s license. MacDonald also allegedly sent text messages referencing “Shabby service,” which investigators tied as a reference to Shabbat services, Jewish worship gatherings that began Friday evening celebrating Yom Kippur.
The FBI was alerted to the videos by the Secure Community Network and the Jewish Federation & Foundation of Northeast Florida.
The two organizations issued a statement posted to Facebook in which they commended law enforcement’s swift action to arrest MacDonald. They said that they worked with law enforcement to share information, support the investigation, and help provide the community with situational awareness.
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1523937226432532&set=a.409484554544477&type=3&ref=embed_post
“The Jewish Federation & Foundation of Northeast Florida is committed to the safety and security of the entire Jewish community. These efforts are an example of the power of the collective,” said Mariam Feist, CEO of the Jewish Federation & Foundation of Northeast Florida.
Feist identified the FBI in Jacksonville, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, and Clay County Sheriff Michelle Cook, St. Johns County Sheriff Rob Hardwick, and Jacksonville Sheriff T.K. Waters as instrumental in aiding in the investigation and arrest.
“We are grateful to law enforcement for the swift action they took and the numerous resources they dedicated to protecting our community,” said Michael Masters, SCN national director and CEO. He said their “strong partnerships” and working together are instrumental in protecting the Jewish community and ensuring that “security is never a barrier to living a Jewish life.”
Subscriber information obtained from T-Mobile and Meta was instrumental in identifying MacDonald. The FBI also conducted surveillance and observed MacDonald’s vehicle outside a Middleburg residence last Friday.
The investigation remains ongoing and the organizations have asked the public to rely on verified information likely due to anti-Jewish and anti-Israeli sentiment emanating from the left.
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