12-year-old Daniel Zellmer Charged With Threat To Conduct A School Mass Shooting In Lee County, FL

Zellmer, a child was charged for threatening to commit a school mass shooting.

By H. Nelson Goodson 

Hispanic News Network U.S.A.

October 28, 2021

Lehigh Acres, Florida - On Thursday, the Lee County Sheriff's Office in Florida reported that Daniel Zellmer, 12, had been taken onto custody and charged with a felony count for making a written threat to conduct a school mass shooting. If convicted, Zellmer is facing from 15 years up to life incarceration. 

Lehigh Acres is part of the Cape Coral-Fort Myers, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area. 

"Make no mistake, any and all threats will be thoroughly investigated," stated Sheriff Carmine Marceno. "Even fake threats result in real consequences. I will do whatever it takes to make sure that our children are safe when they go to school."

According to the criminal complaint, on Wednesday, October 27th, 2021, East District deputies with the Lee County Sheriff's Office responded to several homes in Lehigh Acres after a threat to commit a shooting was posted on social media.

Due to the threat targeting students at Lehigh Acres Middle School, our Youth Services Criminal Investigations Division assumed the investigation. 

Detectives learned that a 7th grade student named Daniel Zellmer (DOB 03/13/2009) was responsible for posting the violent threat. A search warrant for Zellmer's home, located at 1003 Prospect Avenue, was subsequently executed. Detectives located two airsoft guns in Zellmer's room and several firearms locked away in a safe elsewhere in the home.

At the conclusion of the investigation, detectives arrested Zellmer and charged him with Threat to Conduct a Mass Shooting, according to the criminal complaint.