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Thursday, March 28, 2024
Generic Crime
Generic Crime

Gainesville Police arrested a local student  Friday afternoon after he reportedly called six Alachua County schools to make fake bomb threats.

At about noon Friday, Alachua County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to Kanapaha Middle School after authorities received a phone call about a bomb, said Alachua County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Art Forgey. Shortly after, Gainesville Police responded to a bomb threat at Gainesville High School.
Both schools were evacuated and searched for bombs but declared safe later in the afternoon.

Skylar Forziano, a 17-year-old junior at Gainesville High, said she and her classmates knew it was a bomb threat even though it was not initially confirmed by faculty.

“Everyone knew what was going on within a few minutes of the announcement,” she said.

Throughout the day, Alachua County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to three more bomb threats at Lincoln Middle School, Westwood Middle School and Buchholz High School, Forgey said. Gainesville Police also responded to another threat at Horizon New Pathways School.

All schools were declared clear of bombs and evening activities were allowed to continue by 4 p.m.

Police arrested the student, a 15-year-old attending Horizon New Pathways school in Gainesville, just before 4:15 p.m. after authorities traced his Internet phone, Gainesville Police spokesman Officer Ben Tobias said.

The student will likely be charged by both Gainesville Police and the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office with six counts of false report of planting a bomb or explosive, a second-degree felony in Florida. The student may be required to pay thousands of dollars for the large law enforcement response because of a Florida statute, Tobias said. This is to cover the time 25-50 officers spent on the case.

As of press time, the student remained at the Gainesville Police station for questioning and will be transported to a juvenile detention center after, Tobias said.

This is the second time in almost five months a 15-year-old Gainesville student was arrested for making false reports of a bomb. On Dec. 2, Gainesville Police arrested Tyree Nigel Harris, a Gainesville High School student, for reportedly calling in a bomb threat to Gainesville High School on Nov. 11. Harris was charged with two counts of false report of planting a bomb or explosive, according to Alligator archives.

 Alligator Staff Writer Hunter Williamson contributed reporting to this report.

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