BOCA RATON, Fla. — A Palm Beach State College student from Miami was arrested Friday for threatening to conduct a mass shooting on school campus.
A detective with the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office responded to the security office of Palm Beach State College's Boca Raton campus on Thursday, October 13, 2022 in reference to the threat.
The detective learned that a current student, Saul Allain Jean, 24, made several posts on the nonprofit petition website Change.org in which he threatened to conduct a mass shooting on school campus.
Jean's expletive-filled messages criticized gun control, referenced him committing a mass massacre then killing himself, mentioned specific places that "future terrorists/school shooters" should target, and specifically threatened Governor Ron DeSantis.
Jean posted a picture of his Palm Beach State College identification card alongside his Florida Driver License in his posts on Change.org.
Another post was a picture of what appeared to be a bank account with the balance of $1,407.95 and a comment below it stating, "Y'all forgot that I got enough to buy a gun right?"
Later in that comment he wrote, "WHO SELLING AN AR-15? Ain't going down to hell by myself, i'm dragging yo ass down there with me."
The detective checked with campus security and learned Jean was supposed to attend class at the Lake Worth Beach campus of Palm Beach State College on Thursday, but it is unknown if he actually attended that class.
Campus security confirmed the last time he was known to be on campus was Tuesday, October 11, 2022, attending a class at the Boca Raton campus.
A spokesperson for Palm Beach State College issued the following statement about the arrest:
"Palm Beach State College takes seriously all threats of violence. The College activated its partnership with the Behavioral Services Division of the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office, which examines these types of threats. The outcome of this situation proves that this process works.
We are grateful for the quick actions of our campus security staff and the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office, who acted swiftly to make an arrest. We will continue to be vigilant in our work to keep our campuses safe."
It is not known whether Jean's threats were aimed at the Boca Raton or Lake Worth Beach campus.
Jean was arrested on Friday afternoon for written threats to kill or do bodily injury, or conduct a mass shooting, or an act of terrorism and was booked into the Palm Beach County on a $1 million bond.
