‘We don't want to feed this caller's sick ego’

Palm Coast Observer
News

The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office responded to six bomb and shooting threats at four county schools over a three-day period, Sheriff Rick Staly said during a press conference Thursday, May 16, at the Flagler County Sheriff’s Operations Center.

Flagler Schools Superintendent LaShakia Moore and School Board Chair Will Furry also participated in the press conference.

The threats began on the afternoon of May 14 and continued with four more on May 15 and one on the morning of May 16. Most of the calls threatened “to shoot up” or bomb Buddy Taylor Middle School, including one that was made to the Lincoln, Nebraska, Police Department, Staly said.

All of the threats were false.

TIMELINE
Bombing and shooting threats involving four schools in Flagler County were called into the Sheriff’s Office, but in all, six schools were involved.
After the first call threatened Buddy Taylor Middle School, Wadsworth Elementary School, which shares a campus with BTMS, was put on lockdown. On the morning of May 15, after another threat to BTMS, 25 bus loads of students were transported to Indian Trails Middle School, disrupting another campus.
“If it was a joke or a prank, it's not funny.” Superintendent LaShakia Moore said. “Not at all, because it does cause a disruption, but it also causes people to be fearful of what is happening.”
- May 14, 2:50 p.m.: A call was received at BTMS threatening to “shoot up” the school. Twenty-four FCSO units were dispatched to the school. The middle school students had already been released for the day, indicating the caller may not have been familiar with the school, Sheriff Rick Staly said. But Wadsworth was still in session and was placed on full lockdown as both schools were searched.
- May 15, 7 a.m.: A similar threat to BTMS was made again and 22 units responded. Buses were diverted to ITMS. The threat was unfounded and the students were bused back to BTMS to continue the school day or be taken home by parents.
- May 15, 2:45 p.m.: A caller told a dispatcher that they would shoot every police officer that responded to the call and they had placed two bombs inside Old Kings Elementary School.
- May 15, 3:10 p.m.: A dispatcher received a call from the Lincoln, Nebraska, Police Department which received an anonymous call that contained threats of a shooting and two bombs at Buddy Taylor Middle School. The Lincoln police quickly located where the school is located and notified the FCSO.
- May 15, 3:17 p.m.: The Volusia County Sheriff's Office received a call saying two pipe bombs had been placed at either First Baptist Christian Academy or Suncoast Community School in Bunnell. Five FCSO units and two Bunnell Police Department units were dispatched.
- May 16, 6:50 a.m.: The Volusia County Sheriff's Office received another call threatening a shooting and placing of bombs at BTMS. The FCSO dsipatched 12 units and searched the school.Staly said the press conference was called to set the record straight and that this would be the only press conference until an arrest is made, “because we don't want to feed this caller’s sick ego.”

Law enforcement sent as many as 24 units to the threatened schools, which also included a bomb threat to Old Kings Elementary School, and, on the afternoon on May 15, a threat of two pipe bombs placed at either First Baptist Christian Academy or Suncoast Community School, both in Bunnell.

“In every incident, Sheriff's deputies swiftly responded in full force and searched thoroughly until no threats were found and everything was clear, including using our explosive detection K-9. During these situations, we continued to maintain a presence at all other Flagler schools,” Staly said.

Staly said the calls appear to be part of a state and nationwide trend of prank calls, known as “swatting” — false reports intended to set off a massive deployment of armed law enforcement including SWAT teams.

He estimated the cost to the FCSO for answering the calls was between $8,000 and $10,000.

“That was just from our agency alone,” Staly said. “On a couple of these calls we had fire departments staging too.”

Deputies and residents were also put in danger as large numbers of FCSO vehicles sped through the streets of Palm Coast and Bunnell.

Staly said the FCSO is working with its Homeland Security Section, the FBI and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement in pursuing all leads. Typically, he said, when arrests are made in these hoaxes, the perpetrators are between the ages of 16 and 24.

If the caller turns out to be a juvenile, Staly said, the parents will be held responsible.

“Parents, you're going to pay for it. Florida law allows us to charge and seek reimbursement,” he said.

But arrests in these cases are difficult, he said, because many times callers use technology to “spoof” a phone number.

“We're going to do everything we can to charge them. Each one of those (calls) is a third degree felony,” said Staly, who asked anyone who might have information to notify the Sheriff’s Office. They can use the FCSO’s app to submit a tip anonymously or call Crime Stoppers in Northeast Florida at 888-277-tips.

‘I CANNOT THINK OF A MORE COWARDLY THING TO DO’

Furry thanked the sheriff and the FCSO’s school resource deputies for their quick responses in searching the schools and invalidating the threats, and, most importantly, making sure the students were out of harm’s way.

“Finally,” Furry said, “I have a message to the perpetrator making these threats. Stop it now. Whatever you're trying to accomplish here in Flagler County, I can assure you it will fall flat. I cannot think of a more cowardly thing to do than to target children or instill fear in their hearts. … I am confident that you will be found, and you will be brought to justice.”

Moore’s message was to the school district’s families.

“We know that this has been a very difficult week,” she said. “But in these moments, our first priority is ensuring that our students, our faculty and our staff are all safe and that we can return your children home to you safely.”

She praised students and staff for doing “a phenomenal job” in following safety protocols. She said the district is not planning any changes for the final few days of the school year. The last day of school for students is May 23.

The district had announced that all absences would be excused.

Moore said parents should make the decision that is best for them if they want to keep their children home, but she said the normal end-of-year activities will go on as scheduled.

We will follow the lead of the Sheriff's Office when it comes to the safety of our schools. But we're not going to just put our kids in a room and not do the things that we have planned to do because someone is making these types of calls.”
— LASHAKIA MOORE, Flagler Schools superintendent

“We will follow the lead of the Sheriff's Office when it comes to the safety of our schools,” she said. “But we're not going to just put our kids in a room and not do the things that we have planned to do because someone is making these types of calls. If we need to invoke one of our protocols, we'll do that. But outside of that, we're going to have a normal day for our students. This is the end of the year, we have field day and graduation and so many other things happening and we're going to continue to do that.”

Evidence has been collected in investigating the calls, Staly said, but it’s not traditional evidence. He wouldn’t elaborate so as not to give away any leads. He said there have been similar swatting calls this year in Bay, Brevard, Duval, Escambia and Miami-Dade counties.

“Nationwide, swatting calls have been received from Las Vegas to Nebraska, targeting everyone from political officials to college campuses,” he said. “These calls can be made from someone local to someone outside of the United States and anywhere in between, which makes it difficult to trace. But we are actively pursuing all leads in this investigation.”

Staly said one of the reasons for the press conference was to combat disinformation. He said there have been comments on Facebook saying a gun was found during a search by deputies.

“No gun was found,” he said. “No bomb has been found, no suspicious package has been found, but they are getting what they're trying to accomplish, a large response from law enforcement. I would encourage you, if you're a parent, look at your kid’s phone. And if you see unusual phone calls being made, like to Nebraska, or the numbers you don't recognize, you might want to ask your child about that, just in case. And that would help us potentially.

“I want to ensure the parents, the grandparents and all residents of Flagler County that until an arrest is made and the threats stop, we will continue to treat each threat as if it's real, and will respond accordingly,” he said.