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Manatee Inundated with School Shooting Threats

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BRADENTON – In the wake of the February 14 shooting massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, FL, Manatee County schools and law enforcement agencies dealt with a number of gun violence threats this week, leading to multiple student arrests.

A 13-year-old student at Nolan Middle School was charged with a second-degree felony this week, after making verbal threats against the school during class on Wednesday, according to Manatee County Sheriff’s Office.

Earlier in the week, two 11-year-old students from Team Success Charter School and a 14-year-old student at Braden River Middle School were charged by MSO after making similar threats.

With the help of the FBI, the Bradenton Police Department charged two Manatee High School students with felonies this week. 14-year-old Darien Olliff was charged with a "false report concerning planting a bomb, an explosive, or a weapon of mass destruction, or concerning the use of firearms in a violent manner," a second-degree felony.

The arrest came after school staff seized a note, which reportedly said that on Feb. 22 at 12:15 p.m., a shooting would occur on the campus. The resource officer was notified, which triggered the investigation. BPD also charged 15-year-old Devin Reynolds this week with the same felony charge, related to a similar note, reportedly warning of a shooting that would happen Feb. 21.

Southeast High School was on lockdown Wednesday after a threat against the school was found written on a school restroom wall. Bayshore was then put in lockdown on Thursday after another social media threat was discovered.

Manatee High School was under a "shelter in place" order Wednesday after multiple 911 calls had been made to report a Snapchat message with an image of a white male, partially masked, holding an assault rifle, with the words "Round 2 FL Tomorrow," in text.

An arrest was also made in that case, though it was determined not to be the same student in the picture who made the pos. That was determined to have been taken from a repost of one made by a Spartanburg County, South Carolina student, who was arrested for sending out the threat.

Local law enforcement agencies continue to warn that such threats are illegal and will be treated as serious crimes.

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