At a press conference on Thursday, Superintendent of Polk County School District Fred Heid revealed the startling number of arrests, which came only weeks after a tragic shooting at Georgia’s Apalachee High School.
“Arrests of students are planned. “They’ll face charges of a second-degree felony,” Heid declared at the press conference that Tampa covered. “And from the school district’s perspective, we will pursue the fullest extent of the consequences for any student or any non-student member of our community who phones these in or posts something online, social media, or email.”
Heid stated that the school district will pursue compensation for the time and materials expended in looking into threats made against schools, in addition to pursuing criminal charges against pupils who make such threats.
Heid was joined at the press conference by Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd, who reported that 42 teenagers were arrested for writing threats against county schools in the 2023–24 academic year.
The Polk County Sheriff’s Office has made 24 arrests this year in just 28 days.
“That’s why we’re all standing up here today,” Judd stated. “Because that is all we have left.”
