Florida Man Arrested After Threatening Mass Shooting at Jewish Community

Jerry Sneed faces charges of making written or electronic threats to kill, cause bodily injury, carry out a mass shooting or commit an act of terrorism.

By Shula Rosen

A 31-year-old Orlando man was arrested Wednesday after allegedly threatening a Jewish residential community in Glades County in social media posts that included images of a firearm and the community’s location, according to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

Jerry Sneed faces charges of making written or electronic threats to kill, cause bodily injury, carry out a mass shooting or commit an act of terrorism. He is also charged with unlawful use of a two-way communication device.

Agents from the FDLE’s Fort Myers office began investigating Sneed on Oct. 19 after receiving information about social media posts containing alleged threats directed at the Jewish community.

Investigators said the posts included photographs that identified where the residential community was located. An image of a firearm was also allegedly posted in connection with the threatening messages.

FDLE agents and the Orange County Sheriff’s Office arrested Sneed on Wednesday. Authorities said Sneed allegedly had the same firearm shown in the social media post in his possession when he was taken into custody.

According to a Ynet report, the Jewish residential community was established in October and is expected to include around 1,300 housing units.

Sneed is being prosecuted by the State Attorney’s Office of the 20th Judicial Circuit.

The FDLE said the investigation remains active.

Although the number of antisemitic incidents in Florida has declined since immediately after October 7, 2023, the Anti-Defamation League ranks the state as having the fourth-highest rate of anti-Jewish violence and harassment.

John Kevin Lapinski Jr. was sentenced to 25 years in federal prison in August 2026 following a violent weapons investigation that began with his arrest for a shots-fired incident in Margate, Florida, in October 2024.

Investigators subsequently uncovered a massive cache of tactical gear, firearms, and specific hit lists tracking local Jewish and Black residents, ultimately linking him back to a prior hate-motivated shooting at a Jewish neighbor’s home in August 2024.

In a separate case, Forrest Kendall Pemberton was indicted by a federal grand jury in January 2025 after being intercepted by law enforcement on Christmas Day, December 25, 2024.

Pemberton had traveled to South Florida heavily armed with semi-automatic rifles with the explicit intent to execute a mass shooting plot at a regional pro-Israel political office.