FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. (WSVN) - Fort Lauderdale High School and Dillard High School were both placed on lockdown after police received information regarding shooting threats.
The lockdowns have since been lifted, Monday, but they brought many concerned parents to the schools.
“There was some sort of threat with a gun of some sort,” said Traci Bartz, a parent who arrived at Fort Lauderdale High, “so they were all huddled in a corner, and they were all very scared. It’s been hours now, so I’m just waiting to come get her, and I don’t know what’s going on.”
The initial call came in from Fort Lauderdale High School after, authorities said, a called told police there would be a school shooting.
“I’m seeing lots of police with guns and stuff, so obviously this is serious,” said Wesley Leon, a sophmore, who was held outside, while police searched inside. “I’ve been waiting here for like two hours.”
Police arrived on the scene quickly after the caller stated that the student said they were going to do a mass shooting.
Parents waited outside for hours.
“I got here around 9 because he send me a text from his classroom that a student may have a gun,” said parent Sherry Peters, “and he shows me a social media post of a child holding a weapon.”
“You’re supposed to come to school to learn,” said student Rashell Broderick. “It’s already hard to learn. It’s already hard to sit down in a classroom with a bunch of kids, but then you come to the school, and you’re worried about what somebody else is going to do to you, and it’s messing with our mental health.”
Just hours after Fort Lauderdale High School was cleared following the lockdown, Dillard High School was placed on lockdown after receiving a possible shooting threat.
The caller gave the first name of the student, and after police were able to locate all of the students with that first name and search them, an all-clear was given. The school remained under a hold status, meaning no one is allowed in or out of the school, as the students’ parents awaited their children’s release from the school.
According to reports, the Fort Lauderdale Police Department received information about the lockdown at Dillard High School shortly after clearing the previous lockdown at Fort Lauderdale High.
A similar situation unfolded on Dillard High School’s campus after a parent alerted police they saw “a troubling post on social media.”
Authorities quickly found the student who was detained and held for questioning.
“Yeah, I was scared because they came in with their guns,” said a student who saw police respond.
“I would jump gates, I would jump buildings to get inside of a school to make sure my child is safe,” said mother Ashley Williams. “That’s the mother in me.”
The FLPD has stated that they take all threats seriously and are working diligently to investigate this incident. “We applaud their swift response and efforts to ensure the safety of students and staff,” they said in a statement.
Though students at Dillard High said someone was arrested for their threats, police have not confirmed this. Police only said the investigation into these school-shooting threats continues.
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