A bomb threat led to an evacuation at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland Wednesday morning, leading to some scary moments for students at the school that was the site of a mass shooting more than six years ago.
A bomb threat led to an evacuation at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland Wednesday morning, leading to some scary moments for students at the school that was the site of a mass shooting more than six years ago.
The school was evacuated as a precaution after the threat was called in by phone, Broward County Public Schools officials said.
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All students and staff were safe, officials said. Aerial footage from Chopper 6 showed MSD students gathering on athletic fields as law enforcement closed off the area around the school.
Broward Sheriff's Office deputies responded and after searching the campus, they gave the all-clear to resume normal operations and let students return to classes.
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“Especially in the beginning, since they didn’t tell us what it was, just evacuate, it was scary as heck," student Alex Mendoza said. “I know sometimes there’s prank calls for this school because of what happened a few years ago and it’s scary overall because there’s always a chance it might happen.”
Nearby Westgate Middle School was also placed on secure status as a precaution.
"Parents have been informed of the evacuation and are asked to be patient during this process," district officials said in a statement.
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The process of searching the school took about an hour, which Broward County Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Peter Licata said is great but also sad.
"We’re getting good at it, the only problem is, getting good at it means we’re doing it way too often, we want to stop having these disruptions, it doesn’t make sense," Licata said. "You don’t wanna be that person that makes a decision that it’s a hoax or something, we have to go through it, we have to, we’re committed to the community to do the right thing, and do the most safe intervention that we can at that time.”
Licata said the FBI is involved in the investigation.
The incident comes just two days after Nova High School and Middle School were evacuated due to a bomb threat, which was still fresh on the minds of some MSD parents Wednesday.
"I kinda thought it was just a hoax, I think there was one yesterday at another school, one of my teacher friends said, so I wasn’t too worried, and the principal did call us immediately," MSD parent Kimberly Rodriguez said.
"I don’t understand why someone decides one day 'I’m gonna make someone miserable,' this is not fair, this is not fair for parents, this is not fair for the kids, this is not fair for anyone at all," MSd parent Alexandra Michel said.
Stoneman Douglas was the site of a 2018 mass shooting that left 17 students and staff dead, one of the worst school shootings in U.S. history.
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