A Gainesville teenager was sent to a state juvenile assessment center after police said she threatened a 12-year-old with an assault rifle Tuesday evening.
Cassandre Janisha Smith, 17, was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and the intent to kill, said Lt. Stephen Maynard, spokesman for the Alachua County Sheriff's Office.
Smith's name was released because she was charged with a felony.
The crime occurred Tuesday around 9 p.m. in an apartment at 627 SW 60th Terrace.
Smith and the 12-year-old girl were walking in the street when they got into a physical fight, Maynard said.
Smith claimed the fight was over offensive text messages the 12-year-old sent her, he said.
Smith then walked into her aunt's house and retrieved an AR-15 assault rifle, loaded it and pointed it at the victim, saying she was going to shoot her, Maynard said.
The victim ran away.
There were many witnesses who backed up the victim's story, he said.
The assault rifle legally belonged to Smith's aunt's live-in boyfriend.
