CORAL GABLES, Fla. – A hearing was held Wednesday for a Coral Gables Senior High School student accused of making online threats against the school.
At the hearing, a judge ordered that the teen, whose threats are said to have included a picture of a grenade, remain in juvenile detention for the time being, despite his exemplary grades and no prior history of mental illness.
The student was not present for the hearing, but his parents and his attorney, Mario Machado, were.
Machado argued that his client is a "model student," who is a victim of bullying.
"There's a history of bullying, which we're not going to go into the facts of the case now, obviously," he said in court.
But the judge wasn't swayed by that argument.
"It's the actions that bring us before this court that are driving this bus, not his exemplary school record," Judge Orlando Prescott said.
Miami-Dade County Public Schools Superintendent Alberto Carvalho said the student was arrested Tuesday.
According to Carvalho, authorities began investigating the threats over the weekend.
The superintendent said the student created fake Gmail accounts and used them to impersonate other students to threaten the school.
"He was impersonating other students, which makes this case more disturbing," Carvalho said Tuesday. "It's someone who was carrying out a hoax -- a non-credible threat -- by passing on the responsibility onto his colleagues. That is not acceptable."
Because the student faces felony charges, Carvalho said the student would be removed from the school and referred to an intervention program that will give him the necessary counseling and assistance.
Carvahlo would not confirm the student's age or the nature of the threat.
The student's parents and his attorney did not speak to reporters as they left the courtroom.
The student's trial has been set for July 13.
