Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School temporarily evacuated due to bomb threat
PARKLAND - Students at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School were temporarily evacuated on Wednesday morning due to a bomb threat.
The school district said the threat was called in by phone to the county's emergency communication center around 8:30 a.m.
As Broward sheriff's deputies swept the school campus, the students, all 3,300 of them, were taken to a secure location. Chopper4 over the school spotted the students and staff at the school's athletic field.
Parents were asked not to come to the school to pick up their children.
Alexandra Michel said when her son texted her to pick him up, she thought to herself 'oh no, not again'."I was going to the beach, it's a beautiful day, and he texted me saying there's a threat at the school and I'm like 'again', you know, panic," she said.
Nearby Westglades Middle School was placed on a secure lockdown as a precaution.
Around 10:15 a.m., the all clear was given and students and staff were allowed to return.
Superintendent Dr. Peter Licata said they take threats like these seriously.
"We have someone doing this and they are scamming our schools by doing this, there are a couple of them that have happened. Obviously, this school gets a different kind of attention because of six years ago. We are pursuing it, the FBI was here, the sheriff was here, they're getting the details on the callers because we're having it at other schools, and we are going to look forward to pressing charges to the fullest extent of the law. This is a disruption and it's traumatizing to a lot of the parents and the community," said Superintendent Dr. Peter Licata.
Licata said the FBI was at the school because they believe it may be somebody not from the area. He said when a similar scenario happened a couple of years ago, somebody was calling Florida schools from Georgia.
On Monday, a bomb threat prompted the evacuation of Nova High School and Nova Middle School in Davie. Licata said it may be connected.
"We can control what we can control, but there is evil out there," he added. "I don't know why they are doing it but we have safeguards in place."
