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Thursday, March 28, 2024

Ocala man arrested after threatening to shoot up school

An 18-year-old Ocala man was arrested after making threats to shoot up a school.

On October 15 at around 4:45 p.m., an Ocala Police Department officer was contacted by an employee at New Leaf Center (1601 NE 25th Avenue).

The employee told the officer that a “young sounding male” called upset that a New Leaf Center school bus was allegedly driving recklessly.

The caller was later identified as Alexander Montalvo.

18 year old Ocala man arrested after threatening to shoot up school
Alexander Montalvo

Montalvo claimed that a school bus traveling in front of him slammed on the brakes abruptly, and he had to veer his vehicle onto the grass to avoid a collision.

During the telephone conversation with the school employee, Montalvo demanded to speak with someone who could investigate the bus incident or else he was “going to shoot up the school”.

The school employee hung up, and Montalvo called back shortly after and stated, “I’m on my way now to shoot that (expletive) up.”

It was at this point that the school contacted OPD.

The officer called Montalvo’s phone number and pretended to be a member of the Marion County School Board, and Montalvo spoke with the officer and reiterated his concerns with the alleged reckless bus.

When asked about the threats to shoot up the school, Montalvo advised the officer that he was just angry when he made that statement, and that he didn’t intend to carry out a shooting.

The officer ran a search on Montalvo’s phone number, finding his name and address. Upon arriving at Montalvo’s residence, his mother advised that he was at work.

The officer went to Montalvo’s place of work and placed him under arrest. He was transported to Marion County Jail where he is currently being held on $5,000 bond.

He faces a felony charge for making false threats to use a firearm. No court date has been scheduled yet, according to jail records.