The father of a Florida boy who allegedly threatened a school shooting voiced his frustration with law enforcement.
Dereck Marquez, during an interview with The New York Post, claimed the sheriff “basically just crucified my son because he wanted his own 15 minutes of fame after the Uvalde tragedy.”
He added, “He wanted to use that tragedy for his own political gain and I think that’s sick. That’s a sick thing to do as an adult who should know better.”
Dereck Marquez claimed Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno “saw a new story and saw the potential for using my son to get on the news as well.”
He continued, “The second that he saw there could be a correlation or there could be something there, he took it and ran with it.”
Marceno issued a statement to the Post defending his actions.
“As sheriff, the safety and security of our students and schools in Lee County has been my top priority,” Marceno said.
He added, “We act immediately to investigate any and all threats against our students or schools.”
Marceno went on to tell the Post deputies and detectives in Lee County enforce laws without “fear or favor.”
He continued, “These highly trained professionals conducted, as they always do, a complete and thorough investigation that resulted in this arrest.”
Last month it was reported that Daniel Marquez allegedly sent a text threatening a mass shooting.
He was arrested after being interviewed by detectives.
Marceno previously called the boy’s actions “sickening, especially after the recent tragedy in Uvalde, Texas.”
He stressed, “Making sure our children are safe is paramount. We will have law and order in our schools! My team didn’t hesitate one second…NOT ONE SECOND, to investigate this threat.”
Acknowledging the boy’s actions are “not funny,” he added, “This child made a fake threat, and now he’s experiencing real consequences.”
