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Belen teen who brandished gun on video took it from grandfather’s closet: records

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Some victims depicted in the photos and videos were infants.

Some victims depicted in the photos and videos were infants.

A teenage boy told police that he was bullied several times before a video circulating among students at Belen Jesuit Preparatory School showed him holding and racking a handgun while on a Facetime call with another classmate last week, court records show.

Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office detectives went to the school Wednesday and a dean played them Facetime video showing the boy holding the gun and pulling the slide back, making it appear like he loaded a round in the chamber, according to a report from the agency petitioning for the boy to receive mandatory mental health care.

The Facetime call was between the teen and a classmate, detectives say.

The video did not have sound, but the school official also played detectives a voice memo that the boy sent in which he says, “Tomorrow it is going down,” and then making popping noises to mimic gunfire, the report states.

Detectives went to the boy’s home and interviewed him and his mother, the report states. The boy, who the Miami Herald is not naming, told detectives he was the person in the video. He said he took the gun from his grandfather’s closet without permission, per the report.

The teen told detectives he racked the gun to make it look like he loaded a bullet in the chamber “because he wanted to ensure his classmate heard the sound,” the report states.

The gun was not loaded, he told detectives, according to the report, which notes the teen said he was bullied several times in the past, including by the classmate with whom he was on the call.

The sheriff’s office told Miami Herald news partner CBS News Miami the teen is receiving mental health care under Florida’s Baker Act. His mother told detectives she was also getting her son mental health help, per the report.

CBS News Miami also obtained a letter the school sent to parents saying that additional security measures have been put in place as a result of the video.

“The safety of everyone on our campus will always be our number one priority,” the letter stated. “We hope that everyone—students, faculty, staff, and parents—can work together to remain vigilant.”

This story was originally published October 20, 2025 at 8:05 PM.

David Goodhue

Miami Herald

David Goodhue covers the Florida Keys and South Florida for FLKeysNews.com and the Miami Herald. Before joining the Herald, he covered Congress, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Energy in Washington, D.C. He is a graduate of the University of Delaware.

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David Goodhue

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