February 27, 2025 – Port Charlotte, FL
Charlotte County deputies arrested two individuals for making separate threats to conduct school shootings.
On February 26, 2025, a female Charlotte High School student was added to a Snapchat group chat where she noticed that a non-student member of the chat, who was later identified as Paul G. Cruz (03/27/2007), had sent a message that he was planning a school shooting. The female informed her mother who contacted the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office. Detectives conducted an interview with the female to confirm these allegations.
Cruz was later located at the Take-5 Oil Change on Veterans Blvd. and transported to the District 3 office for questioning. Cruz was then placed under arrest for sending written threats to conduct a mass shooting. Additionally, Cruz has been trespassed from all Charlotte County Schools.
“I am very glad that both of these individuals were caught before they even had the chance to carry out their threats. We live in a world where technology is a blessing and a curse. Parents, I encourage you to talk to your children about the seriousness of what they say, what they do, and what they post. Once they hit send, especially on something as serious as a school threat, it is far too late.”
Sheriff Bill Prummell
On February 25, 2025, CCSO received a request from the local Southwest Florida FBI Taskforce regarding allegations made via text message about a school shooting. Detectives were able to determine that a student from Port Charlotte High School, later identified as Jayden Jerome Fain (11/18/06), had been in communication with a student from a school in Pennsylvania. It was discovered that Fain had sent multiple text messages to her stating he was going to ‘shoot up the school’. Fain even told her not to come to school for her own safety. After the Pennsylvania student made multiple attempts at telling Fain to stop, she reported the threats to her mother who contacted local authorities.
Fain was located at his home and transported to the District Office for questioning where he was then placed under arrest and charged with sending written threats to conduct a mass shooting.
Fain has since bonded out and Cruz has been transported to the Juvenile Assessment Center.
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