NBC6’s Julia Bagg reports on what parents need to know about keeping students safe plus the penalites they can face fo rmaking these threats.
One person was arrested after a threat posted to an Instagram account late Thursday night worried parents and students of a southwest Miami-Dade middle school, an officer told NBC6 at the scene Friday morning.
A local high school also received some kind of threat.
The first threat appeared to target Lamar Louise Curry Middle School with a post that showed what looked like a firearm and text over it, saying: "Don't go to school tmr llcms".
One mother said she would not be sending her child to school.
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"As a parent, we got to make a decision whether we send it to school when there's a threat and risk it that something happens or deal with a school absence. Today, I'd rather deal with a school absence than lose my child, because their life is priceless and nothing can bring it back," she said.
A recorded message from the school's principal alerted the community about the threat, saying the school was informed of the threat and immediately alerted Miami-Dade Schools Police Department. It went on to say that authorities are investigating and taking appropriate security measures.
The message also mentioned legal consequences for threats against schools, not matter how large or small those threats may be.
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Miami-Dade County Public Schools released a statement Friday about the incident.
"Miami-Dade County Public Schools (M-DCPS) became aware of a social media threat involving Lamar Louise Curry Middle School. With the help of school administration, Miami-Dade Schools Police immediately investigated and made an arrest," the statement read. "M-DCPS kindly asks parents to continue speaking to their children about the importance of using social media responsibly. Threats of any kind will be taken seriously, and those involved could face life-altering consequences."
Officials at Coconut Creek High School also said they received a school threat on social media, but it was not clear if it could be connected to the threat at Lamar Louise Curry.
"As a precautionary measure, there are extra police and security personnel on our campus,' the school said. "Parents, please speak with your children to remind them that any threat – even if they think it is a joke – will result in serious consequences. In Florida, a threat made against a school is a second-degree felony. Students also face school disciplinary measures as outlined in the Code Book for Student Conduct, including expulsion."
Coconut Creek Police said they were alerted to the "vague" threats through the FortifyFL app, which allows people to report suspicious activity to law enforcement and school officials. Authorities also said they would send their gun dog to the campus.
Classes have not been canceled at either school.
"Unfortunately, the kids today got a deal with so many things that we didn't have to deal with when we were younger. They got to worry more about their safety at school instead of their education," the concerned mother said.
The threats follow a mass shooting at a school in Winder, Georgia, that left two students and two teachers dead and for which a 14-year-old and his father are now facing charges. The teen denied threatening to carry out a school shooting when authorities interviewed him in 2023 about a menacing post on social media, according to a sheriff’s report obtained Thursday.
That deadly shooting left parents and students across the country on high alert.
"We just got to pray that they leave the politics aside and bring gun controls and things that make the school safe and keep our kids safe at school," the South Florida mother who would not be sending her child to school said. "And pray that they're safe every day and they come home to us."
