Charges:
1. Disrupting a School Assembly (2nd degree misdemeanor)2. False Report Concerning the Use of a Firearm in a Violent Manner (2nd degree felony)
Details:
After a thorough investigation on Wednesday morning, detectives with the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office have determined that a threat at Farnell Middle School, located at 13912 Nine Eagles Drive in Tampa, was unfounded.Just before 10 a.m., a middle school student made a false statement to a teacher that she saw an unknown man dressed in all black carrying a gun on campus on her way back from the restroom. The teacher quickly notified a school resource deputy. In less than 30 seconds, the deputy responded to the area where the student claimed she saw the man, but he did not locate the subject. Within minutes, the entire campus of Farnell Middle School, and nearby Bryant Elementary School, was flooded with deputies and school security officers. Both schools were put on "lockout" mode, meaning students and staff were told to remain in their classrooms as deputies cleared the hallways and each room in search of a suspect and a weapon. Middle school students were then sent to the auditorium to go through metal detectors. The student who made the initial claim later admitted that she fabricated the entire story.
"As a parent, it concerns me and is heart wrenching that 1,300 students just had to go in lockout, which means they had to barricade in place as [deputies] stormed the campus. That's traumatic that these children had to go through that, and it’s absolutely intolerable," said Sheriff Chad Chronister.
More than 55 HCSO personnel were called out to assist, including Aviation, Motor and K-9 Units. Patrol deputies and detectives were also on scene to aid in the investigation and lockout. The joint effort helped deputes to quickly make the determination that the threat was unfounded and both campuses were safe. Both schools were transitioned from lockout to lockdown. Students had lunch and went back to their classrooms by 1 p.m.
"To say I'm ecstatic with the response would be an understatement. As tragic as this is for the students that just had to endure the entire process of what happens when we go into a lockout at a school, the good news is that every child is safe and the threat has been unfounded," said Sheriff Chronister.
While school resource deputies and patrol deputies are constantly trained by the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office and with school security officers for school-based threats, the approaching anniversary of the tragic shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School heightened the sense of urgency in Wednesday's response.
"As large of an advocate as I am for keeping our young people out of the criminal justice system with all of the diversion programs and all of our preventative programs, this is one area where I'm not willing to compromise," said Sheriff Chronister. "There's no room for any type of entertainment or joke, any type of made-up threat. I think that the only way to handle this is by taking a hard line stance and making sure all of our children know if you make a school-based threat, it's no different than making a threat in an airport or in an airplane. It's going to be [prosecuted] to the fullest extent."