PARKLAND, FLA. (WSVN) - Police have given the all clear at two Broward County schools after they investigated a possible threat that was called in at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.
According to the Broward Sheriff’s Office, a suspicious phone call was received just before 2 p.m.
“An unknown person called into the lobby of District 17, he said that he was in front of the school and had an AR-15,” a 911 dispatcher said in radio transmissions.
It is unclear what the call was about exactly, but it was serious enough for both Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School and neighboring Westglades Middle School to be placed on lockdown as a precaution.
“They didn’t tell us anything, like, it was just lockdown. We had to sit there for an hour and a half with no information,” said an MSD student who identified himself as Karim.
The call came the day after the five-year anniversary of the mass shooting at MSD that claimed 17 lives.
7SkyForce HD hovered above the MSD campus as BSO deputies and Coral Springs Police officers surrounded the school. Squad cars blocked roads near the campus as authorities investigated the potential threat.
K-9 units were seen searching and sweeping the campus as they searched for the potential issue.
By 3:30 p.m., no threat was located. The lockdown was lifted, the all clear was given at both schools, and students were dismissed shortly before 4 p.m.
Concerned parents and relatives who spoke with 7News said they were thankful everything was OK.
“I just – this is so scary, I mean, with all that’s happened before,” said Marlyn Marders, the grandmother of an MSD student. “It was kind of inevitable to me, but I think I’m ready to homeschool. I’m done; it’s too much. These children have their lives at risk just to go to school.”
“A sense of relief, of course. You never know nowadays, especially with what happened five years ago here, so absolutely,” said another family member.
As of Wednesday night, there has been no word about who made the phone call.
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