FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. _ A 16-year-old student at Everglades High School was arrested after being investigated about a threat to "shoot up" the school, Miramar police announced.
According to police, the threat started in school and then made its way to social media.
"We want to clarify that this arrestee made a verbal threat in a classroom. Another student posted a message on social media advising EHS students not to go to school because of the threat that was made," Miramar police spokeswoman Tania Rues said by email early Thursday.
The teen has been charged with making a false report concerning the use of firearms in a violent manner, Rues said.
In an email Wednesday night, Haleh Darbar, principal of the school located at 17100 SW 48th Ct., informed parents, students and employees about the threat and said it was being actively investigated.
No other information about the incident was immediately available.
In the aftermath of the February mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, any perceived threat against schools drives an intense and immediate police response.
On Wednesday morning, Deerfield Beach High School was locked down after reports that someone had trespassed on the school's campus. Despite an intense search by Broward deputies, no one was found. However, an 18-year-old who had been barred from campus, Braylan Fleming, later turned himself in. Court records show that he's facing charges that include trespassing on school grounds and violating a domestic violence protective injunction.
He was arrested for being at the school despite a domestic violence injunction ordering him to stay away from his ex-girlfriend and the school campus, the sheriff's office said.
Last month, several South Florida students were accused of making false threats _ targeting Pines MIddle School and Pembroke Pines Charter High School, among others.
Students arrested after such threats face charges that were mandated last spring when state lawmakers passed the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Act. It provides for a second-degree felony charge for anyone who posts threats on social media about conducting a mass shooting or engaging in a terrorist act.
Police agencies and the Broward Sheriff's Office have made repeated appeals to parents to speak to their children about the potentially serious consequences of making false threats.
