- May 8, 2024
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Daytona Beach Police reported no threat to Mainland High School after an emergency button was activated on Friday, Sept. 9, sending the school into a lockdown. Police later confirmed that the button's activation was a result of a group of students playing a prank.
According to a post on Facebook by DBPD, there were no reports of shots fired or any injuries, contrary to social media rumors. All rooms and buildings on the school campus were cleared and nothing was located.
Police stated it appeared to have been a false alarm.
On Sunday, Sept. 11, DBPD issued another update on its Facebook page due to ongoing social media rumors, and provided a timeline of events. The agency stated that Mainland High School became aware of a threat that was written on a bathroom wall on Thursday, Sept. 8, and that DBPD had identified and interviewed two students who were seen entering the bathroom. They denied any involvement, and police reported that "this type of graffiti on this particular bathroom stall has become a common occurrence. After a thorough investigation, it was determined that no threat existed, however we added additional law enforcement presence as a precaution."
On Friday, two groups of students in the cafeteria "decided to capitalize on threat from the day before" and appeared to collaborate with each other to create a panic, including a group of female students who told an administrator that someone had a gun. One of the male students was waiting until that moment to run out of the building, and a large crowd followed him.
"Video of these individuals prior to and during the incident shows that neither the male nor the female students observed a gun or flinched as you would expect when shots had just been fired," DBPD reported. "At no time in the video, does anyone stand on a table and present a gun, or fire shots as some people have posted."
DBPD stated that they have identified the majority of people involved and have interviewed nearly all of them, and stories have changed from someone seeing a gunman, to someone seeing gun, to the students heard there was a gun.
Police said the incident appears to have been a "cruel prank" that has gotten out of control. Charges are pending for the students who made the false report of firearms, which is a second degree felony. Police will additionally recommend all students be expelled from Mainland.
This story was updated at 9:03 a.m. Monday, Sept. 12.
