‘Not a joke’: School threats could lead to ‘lifelong consequences,’ superintendent says

September 10, 2024

in Industry,

The 14-year-old student accused of making threats of violence against 10 Broward schools likely didn’t have the means to carry them out, but it still created serious security concerns, Schools Superintendent Howard Hepburn said Monday.

Hepburn and School Board Chairwoman Lori Alhadeff met with reporters Monday afternoon to discuss the weekend arrest of a 14-year-old girl accused of posting a message that suggested schools may be the targets of school shootings or bombings.

Five high schools, three middle schools and two elementary schools were listed on the social media post, which also included a graphic of a bomb as well as the words, “3 ARMED” and “MONDAY11:00.”

After the Broward Sheriff’s Office arrested the girl, the district sent letters to parents Sunday saying the threat “has been neutralized,” and it was safe to send their children to the affected schools.

BSO said the girl “confessed to making the threats and said she intended them as a joke.” She was taken to the Juvenile Assessment Center, BSO said, and faces charges of making written threats to kill/conduct a mass shooting, threats to throw, project, place or discharge any destructive device and unlawful use of a two-way communication device.

“Oftentimes they don’t have the means to carry out the threat, but it causes major disruptions to our campuses. It causes major disruptions to our families because they’re worried what’s going to happen at their child’s school,” Hepburn said Monday. “Just the fear that it creates in kids and families is very disruptive.”

He said anyone who makes these kinds of threats faces arrest and expulsion.

“It’s a crime when you make a threat to our schools. It is definitely not a joke,” he said. “Your words and your actions have lifelong consequences.”

He asked parents to have “very serious conversations with your children and understand the gravity of these issues when they make a threat to our schools. It can change their trajectory for the rest of their life.”

Alhadeff, whose daughter, Alyssa, was killed in the 2018 school shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High in Parkland, said these types of threats can be traumatic.

“As a mother, school board chair and as someone who was personally impacted by school shooting, there’s nothing funny about making threats against a school,” she said.

Broward State Attorney Harold Pryor issued a statement Monday, saying he, too, takes the threats seriously. But he stopped short of saying what kind of decisions he might make as far as prosecuting the case.

“Our community knows too well that these incidents can be very, very serious and it is important for us to hold any individual accountable for their conduct,” he said.

He said prosecutors use “great discretion” and “work very hard to determine the appropriate response, depending on the seriousness of the threat and the needs of the individual juvenile.”

A panel of senior prosecutors reviews the evidence and circumstances of each case “to try to ensure that our office makes consistent and appropriate decisions on whether to file charges or refer the juveniles to programs and services that can help them.”

This may include programs that monitor them and provide psychological evaluations and care, as well as other services. Prosecutors review the behavioral history and needs of each individual in each case “to ensure they are held accountable,” he said.

Several people saw the threats and reported them to authorities via Fortify Florida, an app for reporting potentially dangerous activity, School Board member Debbi Hixon told the South Florida Sun Sentinel on Sunday. Hixon, whose husband, Chris, was killed in the Stoneman Douglas shooting, said the threat was reported to her and she reported it as well.

The Sheriff’s Office was immediately notified and detectives from its Threat Management Unit and Real Time Crime Center, alongside police from Fort Lauderdale, Plantation and the school district, began investigating the threats.

Hixon said Fortify Florida was put in place after the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School massacre. FortifyFL can be downloaded and is already on all school laptops, Hixon said. People who see something can report it via the app. BSO also recommended a different downloadable app, SaferWatch.

https://www.sun-sentinel.com/2024/09/09/not-a-joke-school-threats-could-lead-to-lifelong-consequences-superintendent-says/

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‘Not a joke’: School threats could lead to ‘lifelong consequences,’ superintendent says

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