OKEECHOBEE, Fla. — A 19-year-old Okeechobee man was arrested after law enforcement said they uncovered plans for a shooting spree at Okeechobee High School and attacks on other areas of South Florida.
Police in Jupiter said they pulled over Henry Joseph Horton IV on Sept. 18 at about 9:27 p.m. because a headlight on his truck was out.
The officer later found written pages inside the truck stating a plan to purchase firearms, and "kill everyone at OHS (Okeechobee High School) with my guns."
According to a probable cause affidavit from the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office, Horton wanted to kill an administrator at the school.
They said he also wished to kill another 14 people at the school, for a total of 15 victims.
Horton graduated from Okeechobee High School in May 2022.
"Okeechobee County School’s District Threat Management Team (DTMT) continues to work closely with the Okeechobee County Sheriff's Office and the State Attorney's Office on this case," the Okeechobee County School District posted Saturday on Facebook. "We are grateful for the diligence of the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Department for their discovery and the collaboration between agencies within our respective counties. The district, with the support of the agencies mentioned above, will pursue every recourse within its power to protect all school campuses and property where staff and students reside.
The affidavit said Horton was planning on executing his attack on his 22nd birthday, which is Jan. 2, 2026.
Investigators said Horton also had plans to drive to Miami to a church named "El Rey Jesus" and go on a "stabbing spree" and kill another 10 people.
They said he wanted to conduct these attacks by purchasing a M1911 handgun and an AK-47.
Horton also told investigators that he was doing reconnaissance work on Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School as well, stating that he went there on a school day and saw a bunch of people outside and thought "hmm interesting."
When asked why he would attack the school, he stated "for attention or fame."
The teen was taken to JFK North Hospital under the state's Baker Act to receive a mental health evaluation before his arrest.
WPTV reporter Joel Lopez spoke to Horton's mother and father Friday afternoon about the accusations against her son. Both said that their son is not dangerous and that he has struggled with his mental health.
"He needs to be treated for mental illness and not be treated as a criminal," the suspect's mother, Marcie Horton, said. "He needs a firm diagnosis to find out what the problem is and go from there and get him the help that he so desperately is asking for."
She said she didn't believe that her son was actually capable of causing the harm that was outlined in the written pages.
Lopez also asked the suspect's father, Henry Horton III, who lives in Virginia, what message he had for his son.
"I love you. I'm so sorry," the suspect's father told WPTV. "I don't know what to do, but I definitely love you. I'll do everything I possibly can do to help you."
Horton III said his son has written a similar letter with threats in the past. Lopez asked him if he talked to his son after the first situation and why he did it.
"He just said he has these thoughts, and he doesn't know how to control them," Horton III said. "They just keep coming into his head."
The suspect's father said his son had checked himself into a mental institution and was sent to be with his mom in Okeechobee County to continue treatment.
Horton IV was arrested Thursday and is being held at the main Palm Beach County jail on a $1 million bond. He faces a charge of written threats to kill or do harm.
He is scheduled to be back in court Nov. 6 at 10:30 a.m.
