Lake Mary High School students stay home after threat

LAKE MARY, Fla. (WOFL FOX 35) - More than 2,000 Lake Mary High School students stayed home on Tuesday. The extremely low attendance comes after someone posted a threatening message inside the school. 

District officials say even before the school shooting in Parkland, Florida, they found the threat written on a stall inside the girl’s bathroom. A recorded message that went out to parents and guardians said,

“That threat listed February 20th as a target date for violence on campus.”

The Seminole County Sheriff’s Office said the threat wasn’t credible. The school also said it would increase security measures on campus. Still, district officials say only 472 out of 2,922 students attended Tuesday. 

“We said, if we do send them and something does happen, we’ll feel guilty,” said Henny Pedreira, who has three children who attend Lake Mary High School. 

A district spokesperson says extra security measures will be in place again Wednesday, when attendance numbers are expected to pick back up. 

School officials have yet to find the person who made the threat. They believe it may be connected to a similar incident from last year.