School shooting joke: ‘About the stupidest thing you could possibly do’

PEMBROKE PINES – Another teenager is learning the hard way that making a threat about shooting schoolmates isn’t a joke, even if that’s how he meant it.

Pembroke Pines Police arrested Somerset Academy student Jeremy Ossa, 19, on Friday. He faces a charge of making a false report concerning the use of a gun in a violent manner, a felony offense under the Marjory Stoneman Douglas Public Safety Act that became law this year.

During a science class on Friday morning, Ossa said, “I’m going to a pawn shop, buy a sniper [rifle] and shoot my enemies from the recent past,” a threat that was heard by three class-

mates at the Somerset Academy north campus, according to a Pembroke Pines police report.

The students alerted a teacher, police said.

Ossa, a 12th-grader, told officers his comment was a joke and that he knew it was wrong. He also said the enemies he was talking about were students who had bullied him at other schools, the report said.

Ossa didn’t have a weapon while at the school, at 20803 Johnson St., and told police he does not have access to any guns.

Judge Martin Fein spoke with Ossa’s’ father, Juan Ossa, on Saturday during a bond hearing.

“I know he made a stupid mistake yesterday at school,” Juan Ossa said. “And I know the consequences that he’s going through right now. He’s a very good student . ... All he do is trying to fit in with the other kids. I mean, he does do stupid things as a teenager, but he also is a good son.”

Jeremy Ossa does not have a criminal history. He lives with his parents in Miramar and has two siblings. His father said his son does not have access to weapons.

“As I’m sure you can understand, on the spectrum of stupid mistakes this is about the stupidest thing you could possibly do in Broward County, Florida,” Fein told the elder Ossa. “I’m sure you can appreciate that, sir.”

Fein set a bond of $25,000 and ordered an ankle bracelet for Ossa.

An assistant public defender asked Fein if Ossa could attend another school or perhaps see a physician if needed.

“Absolutely not,” Fein said. “If he is able to bond out, he is in 24-hour lockdown in his home with the electronic monitor. If he steps one foot outside of his home, that will be a violation and I want a warrant and I want him to get arrested.” The Marjory Stoneman Douglas Public Safety Act became law in March, less than a month after the school shooting in Parkland when 17 people were killed and 17 others were wounded.

A conviction can lead to a prison sentence of up to 15 years and a $10,000 fine. Rather than long prison terms, juvenile offenders may be sentenced to probation or to attend a diversion program instead.

In early October after about a dozen children had been arrested in the current school year for making threats of violence, Broward Schools Superintendent Robert Runcie sent a letter home to parents.

Runcie warned that the legislation makes threats of violence toward a school a second-degree felony, and that “The law does not differentiate between a joke, a prank or a serious threat.”