Florida brother speaks out after averting WA school attack. ‘Be the person who does something’
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- Florida brothers alerted FBI after 12-year-old found TikTok map of targets in Kennewick.
- Law enforcement traced IPs and arrested a 14-year-old Kamiakin student within 24 hours.
- Authorities seized 24 guns, devices and documents from suspect’s grandparents’ home.
Two brothers in West Florida are being lauded as heroes thousands of miles away from their home for tipping off FBI officials to a planned attack at a Tri-Cities high school.
Anthony M. told the Tri-City Herald his 12-year-old brother was scrolling recommended videos on TikTok the night of Sept. 19 when he came across one that made him “very disturbed.”
A 5-second clip showed a color-coded map, allegedly of Kamiakin High School, with “targets,” “exits” and places to be “wary of.”
“As soon as he saw the video, he was very uncomfortable seeing something so serious. He immediately showed his sister, who was with him at the time,” said Anthony M., who requested the Herald not use his family’s last name.
The family then jumped into action and contacted the FBI field office in Tampa just minutes after the pre-teen brought the video to them.
“I was just shocked that something like that could stay up on social media without being flagged,” said Anthony M., who estimates it had been online for a couple hours at that point.
He provided the FBI with screenshots of the video and account, the username and other concerning details about the account.
Just 24 hours later, law enforcement officials across the country in Eastern Washington arrested a 14-year-old Kamiakin High student suspected of posting it the video.
Anthony M. says he was just looking out for another community.
“I’d just hope someone would do the same for us,” he told the Herald.
The Kennewick community is recognizing the quick and proactive actions of the Florida family in preventing a planned school shooting.
Special recognition
Kennewick School Board President Gabe Galbraith said the district is mailing them a thank you package and letters from the board. And Kamiakin High staff are working with students to send out thank you letters, as well.
“Their quick thinking and courage made a real difference,” Galbraith said in a statement. “It’s a powerful reminder that when you see something, say something — it truly matters. Our whole community is grateful for their example and for stepping up when it counted most.”
Kennewick Superintendent Lance Hansen said he’s “extremely grateful” for their “quick thinking and courageous actions.”
“These two brothers are exemplars of what we would want everyone to do when seeing alarming content online,” Hansen said. “They took it seriously and they did something by notifying the authorities. They set a standard for digital responsibility, and we encourage others to follow their example.”
Police were able to narrow and identify the household belonging to suspect Mason Bently-Ray Ashby, 14, by crosschecking IP addresses, police databases and cell phone and internet providers.
The high school freshman was arrested Sept. 20 and police seized 24 guns, an iPhone, documents pertaining to the planned shooting and computers from his grandparents home, said investigators.
He pleaded innocent Oct. 1 in Benton County Juvenile Court to a charge of attempted murder with a gun, 11 counts of second-degree possession of handguns and a threat to harm property.
Police also discovered one handgun was missing. They later arrested another 14-year-old student, who said he didn’t know about the planned school shooting but was holding a gun, magazine and some ammunition for Ashby and ditched them near Columbia Center mall.
‘Saw something that didn’t feel right’
Anthony M. says his family has received many phone calls and read comments online calling them heroes.
He doesn’t believe they were acting heroic, they were just doing the right thing — the real bravery, he said, belongs with the police keeping the community safe.
“We just saw something that didn’t feel right and acted on it, and that’s what everyone should do,” he said.
“If you see something, don’t ignore it and think someone else will do something. Be the person who does something, and you never know whose life it might save.”
The 24-year-old says he’s never had to call in a threat like that before. When he was younger there were threats at his high school, but this is the closest he’s ever been to danger like this.
He believes the video was suggested to his little brother through the TikTok algorithm after they had been researching separate threats that had been made at another high school in Florida.
The comment section of the video detailing the Kamiakin map had a few comments, some warning the user, “Waffenblud,” not to do it.
One comment asked if the user was planning a school shooting, and the user responded by “liking” the comment, court documents say.
“Waffen” means weapons and “blut” means blood in German, according to court documents.
The video and account have since been taken down.
Anthony M. says he remains proud of his little brother for speaking up, and notes that the incident hasn’t changed their social media use.
“I'll be keeping the student in my prayers and I hope he's able to get the help and support he needs moving forward, and that the community stays safe because that's the most important thing,” he said.
“That's something he cannot take back and we’re happy we were able to get this critical information into the right hands to prevent something tragic from taking place.”
This story was originally published October 12, 2025 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Florida brother speaks out after averting WA school attack. ‘Be the person who does something’."
