A Timber Creek High School student was arrested Tuesday after deputies said she wrote threats that she would blow up on the school.
Deputies said the threatening messages were written on the mirror of a girl’s bathroom.
The messages said, “I’m going to shoot this (expletive) up,” and, “Don’t come to school on 11-17-17.”
Another threat on a stall said, “Blowing up this (expletive) 11-17-17.”
Detectives interviewed witnesses who said they saw the same student who had reported the threat in a stall for an extended period of time.
“When I found out what happened it was kind of weird and almost kind of scared to know that someone was actually making threats,” said student Christy George.
Detectives said the writing on the wall had distinct characteristics and they were able to match the handwriting to the student’s schoolwork.
“They even put on the announcements that if you’re threatening the school in any way as a prank or something serious, there will be serious consequences,” said student Stephanie Nguyen.
The 15-year-old student is facing a felony charge of threatening to throw or discharge a destructive device.
The sheriff’s office said such incidents can tie up thousands of dollars in resources.
“We have to take law enforcement personnel and fire department personnel away from other response for calls for service for people who do need our assistance,” said Capt. Angelo Nieves of the Orange County Sheriff’s Office.
On Wednesday, a text message to a parent about a gun prompted a lockdown at Windermere High School, but nothing was found.
The investigation is still open.
Orange County Public Schools tweeted out a message Thursday warning that pranks can resul in suspension, expulsion and criminal prosecution.
Recently, some schools have been disrupted by pranks about impending danger. This is NO laughing matter. It wastes resources and can result in suspension, expulsion or even criminal prosecution. Please, help us, @OrangeCoSheriff & all law enforcement keep our children safe. pic.twitter.com/t0ykyVWcam
— OCPS News (@OCPSnews) November 16, 2017
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