Copycat criminals are a dangerous consequence to a shooting as evil as the elementary school tragedy in Uvalde, Texas.

Just days after the horrible slaughter of innocent lives, a School Threat Enforcement Team at Patriot Elementary School in Cape Coral, Florida, learned of a threatening text message sent by a fifth-grade student. They alerted Lee County Sheriff’s deputies, who immediately responded by arresting the 10-year-old for threatening to conduct a mass shooting.

The pro-active zero-tolerance approach by the sheriff department’s Youth Services Criminal Investigations Division served notice to communities that any school threats in the county will not be tolerated.

“This student’s behavior is sickening, especially after the recent tragedy in Uvalde, Texas,” said Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno. “Making sure our children are safe is paramount. We will have law and order in our schools!

“Right now is not the time to act like a little delinquent. It’s not funny,” he added. “This child made a fake threat, and now he’s experiencing real consequences.”

Marceno, who received the 2019 “Outstanding Law Enforcement Executive” award from the Southwest Florida Police Chiefs Association, joined the Lee County Sheriff’s Office in 2013. Since his election as Lee County’s 13th Sheriff in 2020, he’s used an innovative approach regarding police relations within the community.

Last September we had the opportunity to participate in his department’s Citizens Academy, a 12-week interactive program intended to enhance understanding, communication and partnerships between citizens and the Lee County Sheriff’s Office. The academy included presentations by SWAT, Aviation, Major Crimes, Corrections, Public Information and Economic Crimes units. Demonstrations were given on Underwater Operations, K-9 and Bomb Squad and Gun Safety, which included a trip to the gun range training facility.

Following the Texas shooting, Marceno also announced a community involvement initiative called “Safe kids, safe schools.” At a news conference to introduce the program, he said that adults and authorities need to by hypervigilant about the posting of photos of guns on social media, warning that these are a red flag that should never be ignored.

The sheriff stressed that his team’s top priority is the safety of children - from the moment the child leaves the home and walks to one of the 6,000 bus stops in the county, boards the bus, arrives at school until the child arrives back home. The Lee County sheriff’s department has a law enforcement presence in every school with two officers in schools with a population greater than 1,600 students.

Marceno said that having the ability to pick up the phone at 2 in the morning and calling the school’s security director or superintendent is huge.

Lee County Commissioner Brian Hamman commented that as a parent he was comforted to know that the doors at his kids’ school are locked and one cannot enter without first showing an ID. The school also has an armed School Resource Officer and the school district’s security team works in conjunction with the sheriff’s office.

The county’s School Resource Officer program is recognized as No. 1 in the state of Florida and the department’s real time intelligence center is being funded by confiscated drug money, which Marceno describes as “bad money, turned good.”

Marceno said his agency is well-prepared and trained to return deadly force with deadly force in any on-campus intrusion, and that the SRO is not just some retiree on the job, but some are SWAT-trained individuals.

Ray Sandelli, another commissioner, cautioned that as good as the teamwork is between school district and law enforcement, they are not able to be everywhere at every moment of the day and that should motivate all parents to be vigilant and aware of their surroundings.

Marceno seconded that opinion about receiving cooperation from the home front, adding that parents should alert their children that his department is not playing games and that fake threats carry real consequences.

A key take-away to the Florida county’s “Safe kids, safe schools” effort is that it takes everyone - parents, community and school officials - cooperating and being vigilant to make sure that a tragedy like Texas doesn’t happen in their community.

By Jim Zbick | tneditor@tnonline.com

The foregoing opinions do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editorial Board or Times News LLC.