A fake report that a "man in black" had a gun on the campus of Farnell Middle School leads to real charges for a 12 year old girl. Hillsborough deputies say the sixth grader's false information forced the lockdowns of both Farnell Middle and nearby Bryant Elementary... tying up dozens of deputies and school security officers. She's now accused of a second degree felony. Fellow students were forced to go through metal detectors.
UPDATE #2: SHERIFF CHAD CHRONISTER IS ON SCENE AT FARNELL MIDDLE SCHOOL. NO IMMEDIATE THREAT HAS BEEN FOUND.
FARNELL MIDDLE AND BRYANT ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS ARE TRANSITION FROM LOCKOUT TO LOCKDOWN. ALL ROOMS HAVE BEEN CLEARED, AND STUDENTS ARE BEING SCREENED NOW. STUDENTS ARE EATING LUNCH AND ARE SAFE WITH THEIR TEACHERS.
AN INVESTIGATION IS STILL UNDERWAY TO DETERMINE THE SEVERITY AND CREDIBILITY OF THE THREAT.
SHERIFF CHRONISTER WILL BE AVAILABLE FOR MEDIA COMMENT AT A TIME AND LOCATION TO BE DETERMINE SHORTLY. MORE INFORMATION WILL COME THROUGH MEDIA ALERT.
UPDATE #1: A HOLDING AREA FOR PARENTS HAS BEEN SET UP ALONGSIDE THE WINN-DIXIE LOCATED AT 13016 RACE TRACK RD, TAMPA, FL 33626. PARENTS ARE ADVISED NOT TO REPORT DIRECTLY TO FARNELL MIDDLE SCHOOL OR BRYANT ELEMENTARY SCHOOL. PLEASE CONTINUE TO MONITOR OUR HCSO TWITTER ACCOUNT (HCSOSHERIFF) FOR FURTHER UPDATES.
PREVIOUS RELEASE:
SCHOOL LOCKDOWN
FARNELL MIDDLE SCHOOL (13912 NINE EAGLES DRIVE, TAMPA) AND BRYANT ELEMENTARY SCHOOL (13910 NINE EAGLES DR, TAMPA) ARE CURRENTLY ON LOCKDOWN. THE HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE IS INVESTIGATING A REPORT MADE BY A MIDDLE SCHOOL TEACHER TO A SCHOOL RESOURCE DEPUTY. THE TEACHER ADVISED THE DEPUTY THAT SHE HEARD A RUMOR ABOUT A WEAPON BEING ON CAMPUS THROUGH A STUDENT. NO WEAPON HAS BEEN FOUND. AS A PRECAUTION, FARNELL MIDDLE AND NEARBY BRYANT ELEMENTARY ARE ON LOCKDOWN AS DEPUTIES INVESTIGATE THE MATTER. CHIEF COMMUNICATIONS OFFICER DANNY ALVAREZ IS IN ROUTE TO THE SCENE.
PUBLIC AFFAIRS OFFICE HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE