Teen arrested for making homemade explosive; mother says it was a misunderstanding

A 15-year-old boy is facing felony charges after Collier County deputies say a Snapchat video mentioning the Victoria Park neighborhood on Halloween raised safety concerns.The teen’s mother says the situation is a misunderstanding and that her son made a firework, not a bomb, and never intended to scare anyone.Victoria Park is a popular area for trick-or-treating, drawing large crowds of families each year, which deputies say is why the social media post was taken seriously.Natalia Giraldo, the mother of 15-year-old Enzo Vargas-Giraldo, says her son is a good kid who enjoys riding bikes with his friends and never meant to cause alarm.“He just was making fireworks,” Giraldo said through tears. “They’re trying to make it like he’s a bad kid, but he’s not. He was trying to make fireworks and that’s it.” According to the arrest report, deputies were alerted after a Snapchat video showed Enzo holding what appeared to be a 3-pound homemade explosive. In the video, he reportedly said he was “doing it tonight” and that “Victoria Park wasn’t safe.”Giraldo says her son told her it was meant to be a joke and that he learned how to make a firework from a YouTube video.“They like to play
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