A 14-year-old Florida student faces charges after authorities accused him of making homemade firearms and explosives while communicating with a 13-year-old classmate about plans to commit a robbery.
St. Johns County Sheriff’s deputies began investigating Julian Davis and the younger boy April 27 after receiving a tip about messages the two allegedly exchanged on Telegram.
According to an arrest report, the messages discussed “holding someone at gunpoint” and included information about making a shotgun and musket and obtaining zip ties. Both boys attended Switzerland Point Middle School.
As reported by Fox News, authorities arrested Davis on April 30 and charged him as an adult with multiple gun and explosives offenses. Prosecutors also charged Davis and his 13-year-old friend with conspiracy to commit a robbery with a gun. The younger boy was remanded into juvenile system custody.
Sheriff Robert Hardwick and federal investigators discussed the case publicly for the first time at a news conference on Aug. 7. Hardwick said the investigation uncovered evidence beyond the alleged robbery.
Between April 27 and April 30, deputies and federal agents searched Davis’ home several times. Investigators said they found three homemade firearms, ammunition, suspected explosive components and makeshift restraints. They additionally found handwritten notes showing weapon construction and a drawing that appeared to depict a Molotov cocktail.
Authorities also reported finding a tactical vest containing what they described as “White supremacy drawings.” Investigators found a copy of a manifesto written by Brenton Tarrant, the white supremacist who carried out deadly attacks at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, in 2019. The attacks killed 51 people.
Other items included a U.S. Army improvised munitions handbook and “The Anarchist Cookbook,” a 1971 book known for instructions involving weapons, explosives and drugs.
Hardwick said Davis and his friend planned to rob someone identified in their messages as “CJ.” Investigators have not determined who CJ is.
The sheriff said the evidence suggested investigators needed to look beyond the alleged robbery. “There was a much bigger picture than just a robbery of that individual,” Hardwick said.
Hardwick pointed to Davis’ internet activity. Investigators said the teenager repeatedly searched for information about people responsible for mass school shootings and other violent attacks.
“Davis was using his devices in his home to research things,” Hardwick said. He described the teen as having a “fixation” with people who had carried out school shootings and mass stabbings.
“He was actually spending a lot of his time on there going through these high-profile cases,” Hardwick said. “And it’s something that he actually wanted to emulate.”
Davis remains jailed at the St. Johns County Jail on $240,000 bond. He has pleaded not guilty and is scheduled for another arraignment next month.
His attorney, Jill Barger, disputes the sheriff’s characterization of the case. She said Davis had spent four months in an “empty pod” at the jail and had become frightened and depressed. She also accused the state of failing to provide him with “the resources he needs.”
Barger criticized authorities for publicly discussing the allegations before trial. She accused the sheriff’s office of trying to “influence jurors ahead of trial.”
In a statement to Fox News, Barger rejected the suggestion that Davis planned a larger act of violence.
“Julian never even thought about harming anyone,” she said. “The police were reckless and cruel to suggest they prevented a mass casualty event. There is no evidence of this. No writings by Julian, no threats, nothing.”
Davis’ 13-year-old friend spent 21 days in the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice before authorities released him. Neither boy can return to Switzerland Point Middle School.
School officials stressed that the investigation did not uncover a direct threat against the campus. St. Johns County School District Deputy Superintendent Paul Abbatinozzi said there was “never a direct threat” to Switzerland Point Middle School.
The original tip came through FortifyFL, a reporting system created after the 2018 Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting. The platform allows people to report suspected threats involving students and school safety.
