False school bomb tip

An anonymous 911 caller sent Jensen Beach High School into lockdown on April 21 after claiming bombs were on campus and a shooting would start within 15 minutes. (wptv.com) Martin County Sheriff John Budensiek said the call reached Stuart police shortly before noon, and a school resource officer locked down the campus immediately. Deputies and officers from multiple agencies responded as if they were heading into an active shooter scene. (cbs12.com) Authorities later said the threat was false after a full search found no shooter and no explosive device. The Martin County Sheriff’s Office, Stuart Police, Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Marshals Service, and tactical teams were all part of the response. (wqcs.org) Confusion grew because students and staff heard loud pops around the same time the lockdown began. Budensiek said those sounds came from starter pistols at a track and field event behind the school, not gunfire. (wptv.com) That overlap turned a false call into a scene that many students believed was real. CBS12 reported that some students and staff barricaded themselves in classrooms and closets for more than an hour, while others ran to nearby businesses or rally points. (cbs12.com) Budensiek said the response also injured one deputy in a crash while rushing through Stuart to reach the campus. He said false emergency calls put students, school staff, deputies, and bystanders at risk even when no attacker exists. (wqcs.org) School officials began accounting for students after the campus was cleared, including some who had left during the initial panic. Classes resumed after law enforcement lifted the lockdown and kept officers on scene as a precaution. (wqcs.org) By Tuesday afternoon, officials were treating the call as a hoax and investigating who made it. Budensiek said the agencies that rushed in did so under the belief that children and teachers were in immediate danger. (wptv.com)