CRESTVIEW, Fla., Sept. 1, 2026—A Crestview teen faces felony charges following an investigation into a social media post that targeted multiple north Okaloosa County schools.

The 13-year-old boy was been arrested after an Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office investigation into a separate TikTok post that targeted two Fort Walton Beach Schools last week.

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Related: “Online threat directed at two Okaloosa County schools”

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Monday, the sheriff’s office received multiple tips through Fortify Florida in reference to another factious TikTok account posting a concerning message referencing Crestview High School, Davidson Middle School and Pineview School. Fortify Florida is a mobile app where students can report suspicious activity anonymously.

Through law enforcement investigative techniques, the juvenile creator of these posts was quickly located at his residence and confessed to the crime during an interview with investigators.

The juvenile, who is homeschooled, was taken into custody and charged with three counts of written/electronic threat to conduct a mass shooting and one count of use of a two-way ommunication device to facilitate a felony.

These recent cases have shown to mimic a current TikTok trend called “Cat in the Hat” which is a viral social media hoax trend making threats of school shootings.

The “Cat in the Hat” is an overseas and nationwide trend prompting law enforcement to increase security at schools and investigate what appears to be AI-generated or manipulated images that threaten school violence.

According to a BBC report, the trend appears to have accelerated last month when an Aug. 8 post on X advertised the auction of the costume worn by actor Mike Myers in his movie “Cat in the Hat.”

Staff and OCSO news release