Florida Sheriff Sends Strong Message To Mass Shooters: ‘We’re Not Waiting One Second… We Are Going to Kill You”

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May 31, 2022

Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno was clear on Friday: His department is taking public safety incredibly seriously. Especially after the tragic shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, last week.

“We’re not waiting one second,” Marceno stated. “We are going to kill you because you can’t kill evil enough.” His comments were made with the soundtrack to Journey – Separate Ways (Worlds Apart) in the background.

Many Americans have been critical of the slow reaction time in handling the mass shooter at Robb Elementary, which is why Marceno is leading the charge to promote a straightforward “zero-tolerance” attitude towards threats and acts of violence.

For example, first responders said one victim bled to death at Robb Elementary and could have potentially survived if police had confronted and killed the shooter quicker.

The Florida department is also being intentional about labeling mass shooters “evil,” which should be first attributed to Gov. Gregg Abbott in the wake of the Texas massacre.

It’s worth noting that Marceno made a similar promise the day after the massacre in Uvalde, Texas: “You don’t get to shoot our children. You bring deadly force in this county, we are going to kill you.”

That promise was made during a press conference that was intended to show Florida’s strength and reiterate Marceno’s and his department’s commitment to upholding public safety for teachers and students in his jurisdiction. Afterward, Marceno followed through on the strict zero-tolerance policy against threats.

On Saturday, the department arrested a fifth-grade ten-year-old Daniel Isaac Marquez of Patriot Elementary School in Cape Coral for allegedly sending a threatening text message. According to the Lee County Sheriff’s office, the text “developed probable cause for [the boy’s] arrest.”

It was determined that Marquez threatened to carry out a mass shooting.

“Right now is not the time to act like a little delinquent. It’s not funny. This child made a fake threat, and now he’s experiencing real consequences,” said Sheriff Marceno.

“Every single threat is real. Every threat is real until you prove not,” Marceno added.

This is the kind of decisive action that many Americans have been clamoring for since the Uvalde massacre. It sends a strong message that anyone who even jokes about carrying out a mass shooting will be met with swift and severe justice.

It also demonstrates that law enforcement is taking these kinds of threats more seriously than ever before. And they should – given the recent rise in mass shootings across the country.

We should not tolerate any type of threat in our county. Florida is sending that message loud and clear. And other departments ought to follow suit.

Once again, the sunshine state is leading the charge for a nationwide cultural change.

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