FLAGLER COUNTY, Fla. – Law enforcement in Flagler County dealt with several “swatting” calls made to schools, specifically toward the end of the 2023-24 school year.
“Swatting” calls are fake threats made to schools that prompt law enforcement response, and possibly lockdowns, at the school’s campus.
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Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly is providing an update Wednesday, specifically on an investigation made into these threats this year on several schools.
Here are the “swatting” calls WKMG-TV reported in Flagler County that happened during a one-week period in May:
May 15, 2024 - Buddy Taylor Middle School
Buddy Taylor Middle School and nearby Wadsworth Elementary were placed on lockdown due to a suspicious call.
According to the sheriff’s office, over the course of two days, a male caller contacted the Flagler County Communications Center through the non-emergency line and then called Buddy Taylor Middle School making threatening messages targeting the school. Each time, law enforcement responded and searched both schools.
Both schools were eventually cleared and the regular schedule was resumed.
May 16, 2024 - Buddy Taylor Middle School
Buddy Taylor Middle School received another threat.
This one came as drop-off began at the middle school. School buses were again rerouted and the school was again searched by deputies before the all clear was given and regular schedules resumed.
May 17, 2024 - Buddy Taylor Middle School
The phone call was made to Buddy Taylor Middle School’s front desk, leading to lockdowns there and at nearby Wadsworth Elementary School which were shortly downgraded to a “secure” before deputies cleared the schools, allowing normal activities to resume within the hour.
A 13-year-old boy was arrested in Daytona Beach after calling in the threat. Deputies said investigators believed the threat was a copycat to similar calls being made to other schools in the county.
The Flagler County sheriff said said the boy was dared by a friend to make a threat against Buddy Taylor Middle School and the boy made the call because he didn’t want to be “a punk” about it.
May 20, 2024 - Buddy Taylor Middle School
Buddy Taylor Middle School received another threat, and the school was briefly locked down around 7 a.m. as students were being dropped off. But deputies quickly determined the threat was unfounded.
“We’ve had so many of these now that are focused on Buddy Taylor Middle School that are between our dispatchers, our detectives, and our school resource deputies. We can pretty quickly determine if it is a fraudulent call and based on the information that’s provided will allow us to determine that quicker also,” Staly said, adding that it was clear from the call that the suspect is not familiar with the school.
Flagler County Schools is not the only district that dealt with false threats.
In October 2023, an arrest was made in Marion County after a false bomb threat was made at Trinity Catholic High School in Ocala in August 2023. The caller claimed there was a bomb left in a specific room and would explode. Police were able to trace the number back to Germany, though because the caller knew unique details about the school, investigators believed a student at the school might have been involved.
After police received help from the FBI, the caller was eventually determined to be a teenage boy living in Germany, investigators said. According to detectives, that teen explained to authorities that he had been instigated to make the threat by a student at the high school because “he did not feel like going to school that day.” However, he only knew the student’s nickname.
Detectives said they were able to use the nickname to identify the Florida student as a 14-year-old boy who attended the school. Police said that messages between that student and the German teen were uncovered that served as evidence of the plot.
In February 2024, a shooting threat was made at Dunnellon Middle School in Marion County. Deputies in Marion County were able to trace the call back to a Canadian man who identified himself as a resident named “Nick” and claimed he was going to go into the school to “shoot everyone.”
That incident turned out to be a hoax.
Deputies said the man had been talking to a 13-year-old in Marion County who he believed he was in a relationship with. Deputies said the hoax calls began when the teen victim cut off communication.
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