After Florida Shooting, More Than 600 Copycat Threats Have Targeted Schools

Breathless and whispering through the phone, a 13-year-old student called for help from her Ohio high school.

“Help,” she said in between whimpers. “He’s got a gun. He’s got the gun in my mouth.” . . .

But it was all a hoax.

It’s a stunt that other teens and kids across the nation have pulled after tragedies, creating fear in communities and bringing costly investigations by police and federal agents who have no choice but to take the threats with deadly seriousness. . .

More than 130 threats were reported and analyzed by the USA TODAY NETWORK in the nine-day span after the Valentine’s Day shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland left 17 dead. Also, non-profits such as the Educator’s School Safety Network have compiled a list of the threats using news media reports. The group found that a jarring 638 threats targeted schools in the two weeks after the Parkland shootings, a number they say is probably on the low side. (Read more from “After Florida Shooting, More Than 600 Copycat Threats Have Targeted Schools” HERE)

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