Broward County Public Schools address social media threat

MIAMI – Broward County Public Schools officials said Saturday they are aware of a social media post threatening several area schools and are working closely with local law enforcement to determine the credibility of the threat.

They said they are taking steps to identify those responsible.

“The safety of our schools, students and staff is our top priority,” officials said. 

School officials are urging parents to remind their children that, “Making a threat against our schools is a felony and carries lifelong consequences including arrest, expulsion and severe disciplinary measures.”

Late Thursday evening, Nicole Nearor, the principal of Coconut Creek High School, sent a message to parents saying they were aware of “a potential threat to our school of an image made via social media. We immediately worked with law enforcement to safely handle the situation. As a precautionary measure, there are extra police and security personnel on our campus.”

It is unclear who was behind the potential threat to the high school.  

Broward has the sixth largest school system in the country with over 250,000 students, 31,000 employees and more than 320 schools, centers, technical colleges and charter schools.