PASCO COUNTY, Fla. — Pasco Sheriff's deputies arrested a 13-year-old Imagine School at Land O' Lakes student and charged her with making a bomb threat against the school.

  • Girl faces charges of false report of planting a bomb
  • Latest case is at least 14th Pasco student arrested this school year
  • Attorney, Sheriff's Office pleads with parents to talk about consequences

According to an arrest report, the girl posted to Instagram, "I'm about to bomb the whole school and burn everyone who's in it...I HATE SCHOOL." The girl told deputies the post was a false report meant to provoke an emotional response.

Her arrest marks at least the 14th of a student in Pasco County since the school year began. Charges have included written threats to kill or do bodily harm and attempt to solicit murder.

They're the kind of cases attorney Frances Werner-Watkins is all too familiar with. Werner-Watkins has represented a number of young people who faced charges related to school violence or threats. During her time as a prosecutor, she was also part of a program that allowed her to visit schools and talk to students about crimes and consequences. She said the rash of student arrests seen this school year in Pasco — and across Tampa Bay — doesn't surprise her.

"Kids think that they're invincible. They think that they can hide behind that phone and nothing is ever going to happen to them," she said.

Werner-Watkins said consequences vary from case to case. While she did not comment on specific cases, she said there can be a misconception that charges disappear once a defendant turns 18.

"If you want to get into the military, you want to be a lawyer, you want to be a doctor — there's certain types of charges that kids will always have to explain," said Werner-Watkins.

Still, Werner-Watkins said the goal of juvenile cases for law enforcement and districts is always going to be rehabilitation.

"They want to make sure that these kids never do it again, but they also are going to weigh that with making sure the kids in the community are safe," she said.

District and sheriff's officials in Pasco County have repeatedly pleaded with parents to talk with their kids about the consequences of making threats.

"I always say, 'You know, the courtrooms are open,'" Werner-Watkins said of her advice to parents. "So, if you want to go and sit in a courtroom with your son or daughter one day and sit there and watch an actual juvenile docket and you see kids going away, it's a very different scenario."

The Imagine School student faces charges of false report of planting a bomb.