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Lockdown lifted at Lake Minneola High after hoax bomb threat
Parents and students at Lake Minneola High School in Central Florida expressed relief Monday after authorities lifted a lockdown prompted by a hoax bomb threat. The Lake County Sheriff’s Office said an anonymous caller made a bomb threat against the school around 10 a.m., leading officials to place the campus and several nearby schools on lockdown as a precaution.
LAKE COUNTY, Fla. - An anonymous caller made a bomb threat against Lake Minneola High School on Monday morning, prompting the high school and nearby schools to be placed on lockdown, according to the Lake County Sheriff's Office and Lake County Schools.
The lockdown was lifted shortly before 2 p.m. The threat itself was not considered to be credible. However, school officials said, out of an abundance of caution, the lockdown was put in place and deputies swept the school campus.
Hoax bomb threat
Local perspective:
Parents and students at Lake Minneola High School expressed relief Monday after authorities lifted a lockdown prompted by a hoax bomb threat.
The Lake County Sheriff’s Office said an anonymous caller made a bomb threat against the school around 10 a.m., leading officials to place the campus and several nearby schools on lockdown as a precaution.
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Deputies swept the campus and determined the threat was not credible.
Students were not dismissed until about 2:20 p.m., leaving many parents waiting outside school gates for hours with limited information. Some parents told FOX 35 that they were able to communicate with their children by phone, while others said they could not reach them during the lockdown.
Several nearby schools were placed on soft lockdown, officials said, including Grassy Lake Elementary, Minneola Charter, and Pinecrest Lakes Academy. Those lockdowns were lifted shortly after 12 p.m.
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School officials said the decision to lock down the campus was made out of an abundance of caution. No injuries were reported, and authorities later confirmed the threat was a hoax.
What they're saying:
The Lake County School District announced the lockdown late Monday morning through social media posts.
"An anonymous caller made a threat this morning against Lake Minneola High School. The campus has been placed on lockdown. Law enforcement is actively investigating. We have no reason to believe this is a credible threat, but we are responding with an abundance of caution. Access to the campus is temporarily restricted while the lockdown is in place. We will notify parents when the lockdown has been lifted," the district said in a post on Facebook.
The lockdown was lifted shortly before 2 p.m., the school said. There were no changes to the school's departure schedule either.
"The lockdown at Lake Minneola High School has been lifted. No changes have been made to the afternoon schedule of activities on campus. Students will be dismissed at the regular time. Thank you for your patience and understanding as we worked closely with law enforcement today to keep our students and staff safe," officials said in a news release.
Parents react
Despite the all-clear, some parents said the experience was frightening and emotionally exhausting. Some told FOX 35's Stephanie Buffamonte that they remain uneasy and are considering keeping their children home from school the following day.
"I’ll be honest, I was in my PJs. I ran out of the house. I told my husband I need to get our daughter," explained Autumn Burton. "I just wanted to hug her. Put my hands on her, hug her, and be grateful she’s OK."
"For me, it’s scary. For them, it’s scary," said mom Liza Popour. "I’m thankful she had her phone so she can tell me what’s going on. It calmed me down knowing she’s OK."
The Source: The information is from the Lake County Sheriff's Office and Lake County Schools.