ALTAMONTE SPRINGS, Fla. — Seminole County Public Schools Superintendent Serita Beamon and Seminole County Sheriff Dennis Lemma are sending a message to students and parents that school threats are not a joking matter and will not be tolerated.
The district posted a five-minute video on YouTube Thursday evening stressing that threats to county schools are unacceptable.
“A student chose to bring a weapon to a school campus, but let me be very clear, there will never be a time that threatening behavior or weapons being brought to a campus will be tolerated,” Beamon said in the video.
The message stems from at least three situations in Seminole County this week, resulting in two students arrested.
Lake Brantley High School was on high alert Tuesday after rumors began circulating of a potential school shooting.
However, law enforcement determined there was no evidence found to support any claims of an actual threat.
On Wednesday, the school was placed on code yellow lockdown in the morning after a student brought a gun on campus.
According to reports, students alerted officials after seeing social media videos of a male student with a gun.
Altamonte Springs police arrested the student in question after they found an unloaded gun on campus that was reportedly stolen out of Orange County, according to the police department.
In the video, Lemma said in both cases, valuable resources are being used to investigate every report of a potential threat; and when those threats are false, or “pranks,” he said, resources are being drained.
“Our shared commitment to a secure environment for students, faculty and staff is unwavering,” Lemma continued. “Part of our shared strategy includes comprehensive threat mitigations, and when false reports and pranks are reported, vital resources are drained. These actions are irresponsible and simply cannot be tolerated.”
Lyman High School was also placed on a brief code yellow lockdown Thursday morning after receiving a tip about a potential weapon and contraband on campus.
Law enforcement determined there was no evidence of threat or weapons found on campus.
Beamon is encouraging parents to talk with their children about the severity of these kinds of “pranks” and other threatening behavior; while Lemma is encouraging students to utilize the anonymous hotline to report potential threats on school campuses.