Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno held nothing back in an interview on W Radio this week when he vowed to “meet deadly force with deadly force.”
Marceno, who is a sheriff in Lee County, Florida, issued a warning to anyone contemplating a school shooting.
“You don’t get to come into one of my schools in my county and present deadly force,” Marceno said. “Because we meet deadly force with deadly force, without one second, without hesitation,” Marceno said, according to New York Post. “If you think you’re going to come and kill a child, a teacher or a faculty member, think again — we will kill you immediately.”
He also outlined the need for parents to provide their children with better moral guidance in the wake of a mass shooting threat from a fifth-grade student at Patriot Elementary School in Cape Coral, Florida.
The sheriff urged parents to return to “old school” methods of teaching their children “right and wrong” after a 10-year-old boy was arrested for threatening to initiate a school shooting in Florida.
Daniel Issac Marquez was apprehended Saturday after being accused of sending a threatening text message concerning plans to conduct a school shooting.
Sheriff Marceno addressed the 10-year-old’s disturbing threat, stating, “This student’s behavior is sickening, especially after the recent tragedy in Uvalde, Texas.”
Following the horrific events of the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, where 19 students and two teachers were killed, law enforcement has been on high alert for additional school shooting threats.
Marceno told Fox News that children used to be taught the moral principles of right versus wrong by parents. He said, “You understood what was right and wrong, and today, what do we do? Society says, well, if your parent disciplines you and there’s any kind of abuse, come forward, so we can report your parent.” He added, “Parents are afraid. They’re afraid to discipline their kids.”
“We need to get back to the old school and hold people accountable,” Marceno said. He encouraged parents to talk to their children and teach them that even fake threats will still lead to serious consequences. He also urged parents to be more active in supervising their children.
The sheriff made it clear that Lee County has a “zero tolerance” policy when it comes to violent threats. He explained, “The second we get a threat, no matter what that threat is, it’s considered real until proven otherwise. So we jumped on it immediately.”
“The last thing we want to do ever is put a 10-year-old or child in handcuffs. That’s not what we want,” said Marceno. However, he explained, “We have to do our job and we have to make certain child safety.”
“When a 10-year-old presses a trigger, the aftermath is the same regardless of the age,” the sheriff added.