Deltona teen accused of making mass shooting threats in YouTube comments

VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. — An 18-year-old man from Deltona was arrested Wednesday after deputies say he posted multiple threats to commit mass shootings in the comments on a pair of YouTube videos.

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The Federal Bureau of Investigation first alerted Volusia County detectives about the threats Tuesday evening, according to the sheriff’s office.

Deputies say the threats were left in the comments sections on news broadcast videos about the 2016 mass shooting at Pulse Nightclub in Orlando and the 2022 mass shooting at Club Q in Colorado Springs.

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In one comment, the poster stated “I’m going to shoot up a church next lol have fun seeing me on the news.”

According to the sheriff’s office, other comments referenced mass shootings in Nashville, Tennessee and Charleston, South Carolina, saying “I’m going to be the next Adan hale. And instead of being a school it will be a church.”

Another comment expressed support for Dylan Roof saying, “I’m going to follow his footsteps next week at my local church.”

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Investigators traced the comments to a home on Babcock Ave. in Deltona where they made contact with 18-year-old Seth Montes.

According to the sheriff’s office, Montes confessed to making the threats when interviewed by detectives, but said he believed he was only “trolling.”

Deputies say Montes never mentioned a specific church or school in any of the threats. After searching his home, deputies determined Montes didn’t own any firearms.

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According to the sheriff’s office, there was a firearm in the home that was kept in a locked gun safe. Deputies say they’ll seek a Risk Protection Order for that gun.

Montes was booked into the Volusia County Jail shortly after midnight Wednesday on a charge of making written threats to kill, a second-degree felony. He remains there on $5,000 bond.

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