She will be held in juvenile detention.
An 11-year-old girl from US’ Florida was arrested Wednesday for a fake 911 text that said her friend was kidnapped, New York Post reported. According to the police, she sent the prank text, apparently inspired by a YouTube challenge, thinking that it ”would be funny.”
Notably, the girl in her text claimed that her 14-year-old friend was kidnapped by an armed man driving a white van on South I-95 in Oak Hill. The girl even gave a description of the suspect and said that he had a gun, police said.
Reacting to the text, Volusia Sheriff’s Office deputies responded, and so did officers from Edgewater, New Smyrna Beach, and Port Orange. However, after an extensive search for the suspect’s van, they were unsuccessful.
“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,” Volusia Sheriff’s Office said in a statement.
Deputies then arrived at her home and found her holding a phone that began ringing. When she answered, Volusia Sheriff’s Dispatch was on the line, the sheriff’s office said.
She told deputies the whole thing was a prank through a YouTube challenge.
“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,” Sheriff Mike Chitwood said.
According to deputies, she was arrested and charged with making a false police report involving the use of a firearm in a violent manner which is a felony, and misuse of 911, which is a misdemeanor.
She will be held in juvenile detention.
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