Photo: CBS 12
The Palm Beach County School District's police chief is offering more information about a false alarm that sent parents into a frenzy this week.
Police Chief Sarah Mooney says a teacher accidentally pressed a panic button on her employee badge, triggering notice of what authorities thought was a "mass casualty event" at Wellington High School on Monday,
Mooney says the teacher pressed that button, which is new this year, eight or more times. That notified a local 911 dispatch center, before the principal emailed parents to say that it was a false alarm.
Sheriff's deputies and County Fire Rescue crews arrived at the scene, only to be sent away.
If the button is pressed three times, it keeps the alert on school grounds. That's typically for something like a fight on campus, but eight presses denotes something akin to a school shooting.
Mooney says they're trying to do more training with staff members so they use the buttons properly. She says they've had several of these false alarms since the panic buttons were put into use by the school district last month.
Nearby Martin County Schools use the same badges and there have been 18 such incidents there since 2020.