MELBOURNE, Fla. – Four schools were disrupted Friday after Melbourne police received a threat that explosive devices had been placed on several campuses.
The affected schools were:
- Eau Gallie High School
- Melbourne Central Catholic
- Melbourne High School
- Parkhurst Academy
Melbourne police said an investigation was launched in coordination with Brevard Public Schools and District Security, leading to a search of each campus. The district said the search was completed and “nothing concerning was found on campus.”
“Each school took measures to ensure the safety of the students and staff during the incidents,” police said in a statement. “Once each campus was cleared by law enforcement personnel, the campuses resumed normal activities.”
A note was sent to parents of Melbourne High students while the incident unfolded.
“Several Brevard County Public Schools and private schools have received an anonymous bomb threat via email including Melbourne High School,” the statement said. “Miami Dade Public Schools are receiving similar threats as well. The Brevard County Sheriff’s Office (BCSO) does not believe the threats are credible, however, they are taking it seriously. BCSO has sent extra law enforcement presence and canine units to investigate. Schools will continue with learning at this time. We appreciate everyone’s understanding and we will update everyone once we have more information.”
News 6 spoke with parents outside of Eau Gallie High School Friday afternoon.
“Very scary. I was immediately texting my student making sure she was okay,” one parent said. “It’s hard to put into words. Your throat closes up, your heart freezes and you think, ‘My goodness I hope that everybody is alright’.”
“What was it like when you saw that email?” News 6 Reporter Stephanie Rodriguez asked parent Frank Whitehead.
”Stressful. Definitely stressful,“ Whitehead said. ”Of course, my son’s life and everything. Just thinking about what’s going on here at the school and if anything was valid and worst case scenario, but trying to stay positive and optimistic about it.”
One parent was on edge until the all-clear.
“You think it might be a false threat, but you don’t know until you know,” she told News 6. “I’m hoping that they find out who is making these threats even if they’re fake and I do think that the parents of the students that do these kinds of things should be held accountable to some extent because it starts at home.”
Several parents expressed frustration with these incidents.
“Stop making those false threats. Stop threatening people. Be happy,” Whitehead said.
“Get an education and stop playing with other people’s lives let them do what they need to be doing in school and do better for everyone’s sake,” Ivory Mapp said.
Anyone with information that could assist in the investigation, is asked to contact the Melbourne Police Department at 321-608-6731. You can provide information anonymously through Crimeline at 800-423-TIPS (8477) or crimeline.org.
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