- January 9, 2026
This story was updated on Jan. 9 with a Sheriff's Office spokesperson saying the investigation is ongoing.
Matanzas High School was put on hold status from 1 p.m. until dismissal on Wednesday, Jan. 7, as a vehicle parked on campus was being investigated for the presence of an explosive device.
The St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office Explosive Ordnance Disposal unit was called in during the afternoon. No explosive devices were located and the vehicle was cleared, according to a 5:20 p.m. Flagler County Sheriff’s Office post on Wednesday.
During a hold status, students remain in the classroom they are in at the time.
In a 4 p.m. press conference on school property, Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly said neither Matanzas High School nor any students were targeted.
I want to make one thing very clear, there was no threat to Matanzas High School or to any student here, An investigation that we were conducting led us to Matanzas High School.
— Flagler County Sheriff RICK STALY
“I want to make one thing very clear, there was no threat to Matanzas High School or to any student here,” Staly said. “ An investigation that we were conducting led us to Matanzas High School.”
Staly, who was joined in the press conference by Flagler Schools Superintendent LaShakia Moore, said his office had been investigating two “suspicious explosive incidents” the previous few days in the S and L sections of Palm Coast. The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office received information on Wednesday morning about a vehicle that was parked at the school and driven by a suspect, a male student at Matanzas.
Staly said the FCSO spotted the vehicle parked by the tennis courts, which are on the south side of the campus. Staly said when law enforcement talked to the student, he invoked his Fifth Amendment rights, “which is exactly his right to do,” Staly said.
As a result, the FCSO obtained a search warrant for the vehicle.
An FCSO K-9 trained in explosive detection had a positive hit on vehicle leading the Sheriff’s Office to call in the St. Johns EOD unit. Staly said a positive hit only means that “there was something chemical in the vehicle” that would prompt a positive response from the K-9.
Staly said the St. Johns EOD unit used X-ray equipment before entering the vehicle.
Moore said students were released under a staggered dismissal. Students whose vehicles were parked within 300 feet of the suspect vehicle could not approach their cars until the vehicle was cleared. They were allowed to return to school later in the evening to pick up their cars.
The FCSO's first social media post of the incident, at 1:59 p.m. Wednesday, said, “The Flagler County Sheriff's Office received information about the potential presence of modified fireworks located inside a student’s vehicle parked near the tennis courts of Matanzas High School.”
During the press conference, Staly said the student and his mother were at the school and no arrest had been made. On the afternoon of Friday, Jan. 9, an FCSO spokesperson said in an email that the investigation is still active and ongoing.
“I just want to thank the Sheriff's Office,” Moore said. “I also want to thank St Johns Sheriff's Office as well. And again, just reiterate that this had nothing to do with Matanzas High School outside of the individual being here and the vehicle being identified as here as well. And so we look forward to resuming normal activity (Thursday) here at Matanzas High School, as well as all of our Flagler schools.”
