SARASOTA, Fla. (WWSB) – Schools across Florida are dealing with a number of threatening emails Wednesday morning, local school districts are reporting.
All threats received by Suncoast school districts so far are believed to be hoaxes, officials said.
Sarasota County Schools confirmed it received threats. “The Sarasota County Schools Police Department, local law enforcement, and the JTTF (Joint Terrorism Task Force) thoroughly investigated the alleged threat and determined it was a hoax and not credible,” the district said in a statement to ABC7.
The School District of Manatee County also confirmed it also received a email threat. “While the message appears to be a hoax, we reported it to the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office. The safety of our students and staff is our highest priority. We are actively working with law enforcement as they investigate the email. We have notified families and staff of this situation,” the statement said.
The Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office also said it was dealing with possible bomb threats, saying it believes them to be “swatting” incidents, “with the goal to cause discomfort and chaos,” a statement said.
“Our School Resource Officers remain vigilant in their duties, and as always, we continue to ask our community to report any suspicious behavior or observations,” the sheriff’s office said.
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