PEMBROKE PINES, Fla. – Students were allowed back at Charles W. Flanagan High School late Wednesday morning after a dresser with hateful messages found in the courtyard prompted an evacuation.
Broward County Public Schools spokeswoman Tracy Clark said the Pembroke Pines school was placed on lockdown "due to a suspicious incident." She said students and school staff were moved to another location on campus.
Sky 10 was above the school as students gathered at the football field, while some climbed over fences.
"Because I don't want to die," a student told Local 10 News.
Police said the school was evacuated while the bomb squad conducted a sweep of the campus.
The dresser had a message that read "Open Me" written on it. A swastika was also drawn on the side of the box with a racial slur written above it.
A bomb squad robot was being used to inspect the dresser. It was deemed to be safe, with nothing but a cinder block and some papers found inside.
Students told Local 10 News that it was just a senior prank, but school officials and authorities aren't finding anything funny about it.
"When we apprehend these individuals and when they are prosecuted, part of their civil penalty should be restitution," Capt. Al Xiques said. "They and/or their parents are going to be responsible to pay for the investigative costs of these type of incidents."
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