A fake shooting scare at a Florida-based Central School has created panic among the school children and officials. The Police have termed the event at the school as a “cruel prank” that was carried out by two groups of students who are now facing criminal charges and might face possible expulsion as well.
Rumors, lies, and conspiracy theories have been “floating around” on social media since Friday’s lockdown at Mainland High School, Daytona Beach police said on Sunday in a lengthy Facebook post.
“This entire incident appears to have been a cruel prank by several students that has now gotten out of control due to internet trolls, misinformed people and in some cases, people that are not even in Florida,” police said.
The investigating team has said the school officials got to know about the case through a threat note written on a bathroom stall earlier this week. School officials and law enforcement reviewed video and interviewed two students who had entered the bathroom around the time the graffiti was discovered.
On Friday, two groups of students in the cafeteria “decided to capitalize on the threat” and “appear to collaborate with each other to create a panic,” police said.
They were seen on video “getting into specific positions and locations within the cafeteria, timing their actions” and several female students told the administration that someone had a gun.
However, the police confirmed that the video brought under investigation showed none of the students having a gun at any time. The detectives have identified the students who were involved in the incident and have interviewed most of them.