By LINDA CHION KENNEY
School threats are no joke is the message Sheriff Chad Chronister and HC School Superintendent Van Ayres have been hitting hard, including with a public service announcement featuring nine student voices in the wake of hundreds of threats involving numerous Hillsborough County schools.
The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO) on Monday announced a $5,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the person responsible for school threats that forced the Sept. 13 multi-hours lockdown at Newsome High School in Lithia. To report a tip anonymously, call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-873-TIPS (8477) or **TIPS from your cell phone or use the free Florida Crime Stoppers app. The school reopened Monday, with law enforcement officers and metal detectors in place.
Nationwide, an increase in school shooting threats has been on the rise since the Sept. 4 shooting in Georgia at Apalachee High School. There, a 14-year-old student reportedly killed two students and two teachers and injured nine others.
According to a Hillsborough district post dated Sept. 13, school officials, over the prior 10 days, had been dealing with a rash of fake school threats, including 62 posted on social media or via text message. Another 119 threats were reported at FortifyFL, a suspicious activity reporting tool that allows users to instantly relay information to appropriate law enforcement agencies and school officials.
Threats such as these resulted in more than 200 HCSO members dispatched to Newsome on Sept. 13, where, reportedly, they “spent several hours searching through buildings, conducting security screenings and working with school administrators to evacuate students into secured areas.” While “no weapons or credible threats were uncovered,” the mental-health toll was of deep concern.
“The turmoil and trauma experienced today by these students, staff and parents is unimaginable,” Chronister said. “No community should ever have to endure such fear and uncertainty.”
Meanwhile, “every single threat against a school, whether it’s verbal, posted on social media or written on a bathroom wall, is investigated,” Ayres said. “Already this year, law enforcement has arrested several students who made bogus threats against a school and were tracked down.”
Count among them two teen girls, ages 15 and 13, who reportedly have been booked on counts of written or electronic threat to conduct a mass shooting or act of terrorism and unlawful use of a two-way communication device. The older student was arrested at Bloomingdale High; the younger, at Dowdell Middle Magnet.
To hammer home the severity of false threats, Hillsborough school officials released an “Enough is enough” public service announcement that features students who address the severe consequences of making false threats.
“Guys, it’s not funny; it’s not a joke,” one student says. “It’s a very serious thing; the consequences are even more serious, and you’ve got to think about your future on things like this.”
Sheriff Chad Chronister give a news update on the Newsome HS lockdown.
“It’s not cool,” says another student. “Everybody wants to go to school and be safe and by you putting [false threats] on social media or saying it at school, it makes everyone feel not safe.”
One student says false threats “can put you in jail or it can just alter your entire future,” while another says “whether you’re trying to get a job, whether you’re trying to get into even school,” bogus school threat charges “will follow you forever.”
Superintendent Ayres urged parents to talk to their children about the consequences of issuing threats in jest.
Indeed, “I don’t think you understand the consequences that are coming from your decisions” to spread false information one student said, in the public service announcement. “They’re not playing around,” added another. “And it’s not any bit of a joke anymore.”
One student put it more bluntly. “You’re embarrassing your family and yourselves,” he said. “Remember that.”
Ayres closed by noting that it’s always important and essential to report matters of concern. “If you see something suspicious, report it to an adult,” he said. “See something, say something.”
Yet “think before you make an offhanded comment or post a bogus threat on social media,” Ayres added. “It’s not a joke, and it will follow you for years to come. Think about your future.”
