Manatee County Sheriff's Office investigating bomb threats at Parrish Community High School

The Manatee County Sheriff’s Office is investigating to find those responsible for making threats against Parrish Community High School that caused the school to evacuate students Tuesday. 

Two bomb threats were made anonymously through FortifyFL, a suspicious activity reporting app the School District of Manatee County uses. The threat stated a bomb would go off at 10:15 a.m. Tuesday at Parrish Community High School.

Craig Little, the principal of Parrish Community High School, said the school takes every threat seriously.

“The safety and security of our students is our utmost priority,” Little said. “As school principal, I’m concerned with the amount of time being taken away from our students’ education. Please know that I’m committed to getting to the bottom of this and finding out who the source is.”

Photo by Liz Ramos

Students and staff were evacuated to the football field in response to the threat while the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office conducted a thorough check for bombs throughout the entire campus.

Little said while a check was being conducted, parents were not allowed on campus, and only student drivers were permitted off campus with parent permission. 

Cynthia Saunders, the superintendent of the School District of Manatee County, said the sweep to check for any bombs was initially expected to take six hours.

With the help of bomb sniffing dogs from Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, Little said it only took three-and-a-half hours to conduct a sweep. 

Little said once the campus was determined to be clear by law enforcement, students returned to class until dismissal at the end of the school day. 

Willie Clark, the executive director of secondary education for the district, said Tuesday’s bomb threat caused an evacuation due to the threat including a specific day and time that allowed for the school to safely evacuate students and staff. 

Paul Damico, the chief officer of safety and security for the School District of Manatee County, said it’s protocol for everyone to evacuate at a location that is at least 300 feet away from the school, so students were evacuated to the football field. 

The district initially planned to have students evacuated and transported to the Manatee County Fairgrounds in Palmetto, but once it was determined the sweep of the school would take less time, it was decided that students would remain on campus, Saunders said. 

Tuesday’s bomb threat comes after a string of threats made against the school since Feb. 1, including four bomb threats. Saunders said each threat has been found not to be credible. 

“It is unfortunate that these threats continue and have disrupted the education for so many,” Saunders said. “I know the Sheriff’s Office and Sheriff (Rick) Wells is working diligently to bring this to a halt, but as you know, even though these threats are anonymous and have not been credible, we must take action, and we must take each threat credibly until it is resolved.”

Photo by Liz Ramos

Wells said the Sheriff’s Office will not stop investigating until those responsible for making the threats are arrested. He said the charges will include a second degree felony for written threats to harm others and a misdemeanor charge of disrupting a school.

Manatee County Crime Stoppers is offering a $500 reward for anyone who has information that leads to an arrest. 

Saunders, Wells and Little urged parents to talk to their children about the consequences of making threats and to share any information they might know. 

Saunders ensured the school was safe and students should return to school. 

“The campus is safe, learning is available, but we do have to take the threats when they come in and adhere to the policy and the protocol,” Saunders said. 

Wells said an increased presence of law enforcement will continue at the school.