JENSEN BEACH, Fla. — A lockdown at Jensen Beach High School was lifted late Friday morning after an incident involving a student walking onto school property without him following security procedures, the Martin County Sheriff's Office said.
After the person bypassed all security protocols, school administrators issued the lockdown, then all available north-end Martin County Sheriff's Office personnel and Stuart police responded to the school, according to a post by the county agency on Facebook.
Martin County Sheriff William Snyder said that at 10:37 a.m. a student walked onto campus and didn't sign in with his school identification, per protocol.
That led authorities to believe an unknown person walked onto campus, prompting the immediate lockdown of the school.
Snyder said within two minutes more than 50 units, including all north-end Martin County deputies and Stuart police officers, were at the school searching every classroom for a possible suspect.
By 10:59 a.m., Snyder said officers found the student they were looking for in a classroom, lifting the lockdown soon after.
For students like Zack Zanitzer, a junior at Jensen Beach High School, the experience was terrifying.
"I was sitting there in history class, they called a lockdown and said it was a drill, and we call kind of pranced over like it was a normal drill," Zanitzer said. "Then, Miss Vogle came over on the big speaker and said, 'This is not a drill. There's someone in the school.' And so we all kind of freaked out, but the cops were on it, it seemed.”
Zanitzer, with the permission of his mother, told WPTV with so many school shootings across the country, it's a moment he mentally prepared for.
"As a student, it's one of those things in the back of your mind," Zanitzer said. "My first thought was to text my mom, so, of course, I did that. We had a bunch of kids texting their parents, a bunch of little noises going on that you just hope will stay down and be quiet."
Zanitzer said the experience was scary, but said he was thankful for the quick response from law enforcement.
"I mean, it's just a scary sight when you don't know what's going on. You always think of the worst," Zanitzer said. "I just liked how they took it into precaution. It was great. It was the smallest thing, but it was great."
He told WPTV's Kate Hussey the response from the school district and from law enforcement makes him feel safer.
"It does," Zanitzer said. "It does."
The sheriff said the student, who was briefly detained, was turned back over to the school district and will not face criminal charges. Superintendent John Millay said they will be addressing the student's actions based on the code of conduct.
The school district said they prepare for this type of situation. While it's unfortunate that it happened — from the teachers who locked their doors to the law enforcement who arrived quickly — they couldn't be more grateful for how smoothly the response was executed.
"The procedures were being followed, the communication was happening, the school was secured, kids were safe," Superintendent of Martin County Schools Dr. John Millay said. "It's a real positive test that our system works."
"Parents ask me all the time, 'Are my children safe? Are your deputies trained well enough to do this?' The answer is unequivocally, yes," Snyder added. "I could not be more proud of my people."
The sheriff said he was proud of the large law enforcement presence that responded to the situation, despite the strain it puts on the agency.
"We've had 72 reported threats against schools or students or teachers or somebody in the school so far this year compared to 19 all of last year," Snyder said.
