Several Broward County schools placed on lockdown

Social media threats lead to heavy police presence on school campuses Thursday

BROWARD COUNTY, Fla. – Several schools in Broward County were placed on lockdown Thursday morning amid threats made on social media.

Pembroke Pines Charter High School, which houses a branch of Broward College, was placed on lockdown for a brief time, according to a message sent to parents, students and teachers. The message said police were sweeping the campus.

Some parents told Local 10 News they heard there was a bomb threat, while others said there was a shooter on campus.

Pembroke Pines police said in a tweet that no specific threat was found. Students were eventually allowed back inside the school.

Dillard High School and Dillard Elementary School were also on lockdown, but Fort Lauderdale police have characterized those incidents as a product of a false alarm.

Several police cars could be seen on campus at Archbishop Edward A. McCarthy Catholic High School, but it was not evacuated.

Police were investigating after a classroom recording of a 15-year-old student threat was shared via social media.

"That's basically my plan," the student said in the recording. "And then after they die and they're, like, begging me for mercy, I basically just massacre them."

Davie police said they have detained the student, who was being questioned.

"We're trying to determine whether or not criminal charges should be brought forward," Davie police Capt. Dale Engle told Local 10 News. "Is this something that needs to be evaluated by a doctor? We don't know."

Police said they will treat all school threats seriously.

"I'd hate to think that anybody would consider any type of threat of violence as a joke in today's society," Engle said.

Archdiocese of Miami spokeswoman Mary Ross Agosta said the student never set foot on campus Thursday.

"Anytime any type of comment that can be deemed inappropriate will be investigated by schools," she said, adding that the archdiocese takes threats "very seriously."

All schools were cleared and classes resumed as normal.

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