MIAMI BEACH, Fla. ā Officers locked down Miami Beach Senior High School on Wednesday afternoon for about two hours to conduct security sweeps after the cityās 911 call center received a report of a threat.
āThe caller alluded that there was a weapon on campus,ā Miami-Dade Schools Police Chief Edwin Lopez said.
According to the Miami Beach Police Department, officers didnāt identify a valid threat and decided it was safe to dismiss the students just before 4 p.m.
Miami Beach Police Chief Richard Clements responded to the school within minutes.
āIt was a threat that was made from somebody who indicated they were in the school,ā Clements said. āWe immediately went ahead and responded, set up a perimeter, command post.ā
Officers with Miami Beach, Miami-Dade, and the Miami-Dade Schools Police Department worked together. Some were heavily armed. There were MDPD officers in a helicopter and police dogs.
Students waited with their teachers in the classrooms.
āIn the first hour, I was really stressed, but after I heard the cops I felt like it was like under control,ā Joaquin Cardenas, a student, said after dismissal.
Jetsy Perez, an anguished mother, was among the parents who waited outside of the school. She said her 15-year-old daughter called her terrified and told her she was hiding under a desk.
āThey donāt tell them anything. They hear noises. They donāt know whatās going on,ā Perez said. āItās the worst feeling. Itās like youāre here and you canāt do anything. Youāre the mom and you canāt even go inside.ā
Matthew Haber, a 12th-grade student who is getting ready to graduate, said he was afraid when he saw a security guard open up the gate for a police officer with his emergency lights on. He said he āwas a little freaked outā when he learned the school was in a code red lockdown.
āJust going to school in the United States in the current state of affairs is a little scary,ā Haber said. āBut seeing stuff like this, you can hear the police officers everywhere, it isnāt the most settling learning environment.ā
Related social media
UPDATE: We are conducting an investigation alongside @MDSPD at Miami Beach Sr High.
— Miami Beach Police (@MiamiBeachPD) May 26, 2021
Out of an abundance of caution, we ask parents to please avoid the area. It is important to note that at this moment the children are safe. pic.twitter.com/T3eVHfcUNp
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