MARTIN COUNTY, Fla. — Law enforcement across South Florida are dealing with a surge in school threats, as seven investigations into threats at seven different schools took place in just 48 hours from Indian River to Palm Beach County.
At least two of those threats led to an arrest of a student.
Wednesday,WPTV reported on the arrestof an 11-year-old the St Lucie County Sheriff's Office said threatened to shoot up Southern Oaks Middle School.
"I mean, 11 years old, somebody should’ve talked to her,” shared parent Lisa Aiello.
Then, Thursday Indian River County deputies arresteda 16-year-old student for making a social media threat against Vero Beach High School.
According to the school district, the person responsible was not a student at Vero Beach High School but did attend another school in the district.
"The child was ultimately charged with a felony," Sheriff Eric Flowers told WPTV's Kate Hussey.
Friday, law enforcement investigated threats at five different schools.
The Palm Beach School District told WPTV the schools affected included Royal Palm High, Carver Middle, Crestwood Middle, and Jeaga Middle Schools.
A St. Lucie County Schools spokesperson told WPTV there were rumors circulating about a threat involving Palm Pointe K-8 in Tradition.
Threats against all five schools were deemed not credible.
"Don't be emotional, get them out, get them home, get them safe," said Joe Rosen, the father of Palm Pointe students.
Rosen said he wasn't taking any chances when he heard about the potential threat, and pulled his third and sixth grade daughters out of school.
"When you do see the threat, as a parent, you have to react," said Rosen.
"Is it frustrating?" WPTV's Kate Hussey asked.
"I think that’s just become the norm," said Rosen.
"I would say we're right at a crisis stage," said Martin County Sheriff William Snyder.
Snyder told me in the past five weeks deputies investigated 24 threats. Last year, deputies investigated 70, and Snyder said at this rate, they're on track to see two and a half times the amount of threats they saw last year.
One of the threats deputies are currently investigating involves a four page manifesto Snyder said was written by a Martin County student and given to a school resource officer.
The manifesto, too gruesome and graphic to share, details the student's desire to brutally kill his classmates and teacher, among other threats.
"It's been tough this year. We’ve been chasing down a lot," said Martin County School District's Safety and Security Chief Frank Frangella.
Frangella said not all of the threats coming in turn out to be credible, but he said he and his team can't take any chances.
"We have to look at all of them. We have to make sure we’re doing everything we possibly can," said Frangella.
"Does that put a strain on your resources?" asked Hussey.
"Oh, absolutely," said Frangella. "They do not understand the consequences."
So what are the consequences for a student making threats against a school, classmates or teachers?
According to Snyder, Frangella and Flowers the consequences are severe.
From Frangella's end, it depends on the type of threat.
"There are two types of threats," said Frangella. "There's the threat you find on social media, it may be vague, it may not list a school, but unfortunately the kids get a hold of it and unfortunately this is happening across the state."
Frangella said the district leaves those threats to law enforcement.
He said if the school district becomes aware of a threat themselves, the district's threat assessment team gets involved, consisting of administration, mental health professionals and law enforcement.
"We'll look at it holistically. We're looking to find out what happened. Something is making this student report this threat, put it on social media, and we're looking to help this child," said Frangella. "And we work closely with our law enforcement."
Frangella said after investigating, if the threat turns out to be a violation of state statutes, the student could face suspension or expulsion per the school's policy.
From a law enforcement end, a student found responsible for making a threat could face felony charges.
"If you cross the line, and you violate the law— we’re going to charge you. We don't negotiate this. You’re going to get arrested," said Snyder.
Flowers said he's seen some students tried as adults for making threats, and said some that are convicted face weeks or even months in a juvenile detention center.
"It's not going to go away from your record for forever," said Flowers.
"Don't play around with making threats," added Snyder.
WPTV's Ethan Stein spoke with Dr. Carrie Longest, a mental health professional, who said research shows it’s common to see a spike in threats made against schools after a school shooting like the one in Winder, Georgia earlier this month. She said kids will make threats because they’re struggling mentally or short-term self-perceived benefits like school getting canceled.
Longest said she received a letter warning parents of an unfounded threat at Crestwood Middle School in Palm Beach County. She said she understands people’s concerns regardless of a threat’s credibility.
“It’s scary,” Longest said. "It’s scary to think about having kids at school. This is what [kids] have to think about. As a mental health professional, I do my best to mitigate everything going into them every single day and support them.”
Frangella and Flowers also emphasized the use of the FortifyFL app, which allows for the reporting of school-related suspicious activity.
Flowers said last year, his agency received 121 FortifyFL tips, however, he added not all of those were for threats against schools.
Currently, the four-page manifesto written by a Martin County student is under investigation by the Martin County Sheriff's Office. No charges have been filed as of yet against the student.
