West Orange High School was locked down over a reported threat Friday morning, the sixth time this week that Central Florida law enforcement agencies responded to a school threat.
- Deputies respond to West Orange High after reported threat
- Threat was 6th this week made to Central Florida schools
- Deputies frustrated with drain on money, resources
A note found in a bathroom at the Winter Garden high school "indicated a potential threat to our students' safety," Principal Bill Floyd said in an email to parents and guardians. "Because the safety of our students is first and foremost, we take all such situations seriously."
No weapons were found, deputies said, who thanked the student for going directly to them instead of posting something on social media first.
Earlier Friday, Palm Bay Police increased their presence at Southwest Middle School after a threat circulated the night before on the social media app Snapchat. In Melbourne, a threat was made against Central Middle School. Classes were not canceled at either school.
A 15-year-old girl was charged with threatening to throw, project, place or discharge a destructive device, a felony, on Thursday after Orange County deputies said she scrawled a threat to blow up Timber Creek High School in a campus bathroom two days before.
"I'm going to shoot this s**t up" and "Don't come to school 11-17-17" were found written on a bathroom mirror and tile. "Blowing up this b***h 11-17-17," was also written in a bathroom stall.
Windermere High was locked down Wednesday after a report of a student who may have a gun on campus. No threat was found, but the school was shut down for several hours.
A day earlier, Lake Minneola High School was targeted in a Snapchat post in which someone holding what appears to be a handgun threatens to "finish what never started," possibly a reference to a student who killed himself on campus. The 16-year-old student who made the Snapchat threat was arrested and charged with is charged with the second degree felony of written threats to kill or do bodily harm.
"We’re not putting up with this," said Lt. John Herrell of the Lake County Sheriff’s Office. "I don’t know how he thinks this is funny. We don’t think it’s funny. It’s a very serious threat that he posted."
The Orange County Sheriff's Office echoed that frustration.
"It can cost up to tens of thousands of dollars, because of the fact that you have up to 50 police officers, and this is multiple agencies that respond," said Capt. Angelo Nieves, a public information officer with the Sheriff's Office. "You have assisting agencies that respond as well, (like) the fire department,” he said.