Jacksonville officer's gun fired while investigating false threat to Jefferson Davis Middle School

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Jefferson Davis Middle School was on a brief lockdown after a false threat. While investigating the threat, a Jacksonville Sheriff's Office officer's gun fired outside the school, according to Duval County Public Schools.

JSO told Action News Jax they were called to Jefferson Davis Middle School after receiving a 911 call stating a school shooting happened. They received a second call minutes later again about a school shooting.

JSO was on the scene at 3:51 p.m. and performed a sweep of the school. The school was cleared and the claims were found to be false.

At 4:02 p.m. a JSO officer unintentionally fired his gun, according to JSO the bullet just hit the sidewalk.

The message that went out to parents said: 

"Good Afternoon parents and guardians of Jefferson Davis Middle School. This is Tracy Pierce from Duval County Public Schools calling to inform you of an incident on campus today that required us to put the campus on a brief lockdown. 

First, at no time was there a threat to our campus, and staff and students remained safe throughout the day. 

Unfortunately, a false threat was made to the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office indicating there was a threat on campus. This was false information. 

However, all threats are taken seriously and JSO responded quickly.  They were able to investigate the threat and determine the school was safe. 

In the process of checking the school campus, a JSO officer’s firearm was accidentally discharged outside of the school.   This part of the incident is being handled by the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office. We will also be investigating the source of the original threat. 

Thanks to the calmness and professionalism of students and staff, the situation remained calm and we were able to dismiss as normal. Again, staff and students remained safe throughout this incident. 
While it is very upsetting that someone would make a false threat against the school and disrupt our campus -- and even more upsetting that a weapon was discharged -- we are appreciative for the calm and composure of our students and staff during a stressful situation. 

Please talk with your children about what happened today and discuss the serious nature of making false threats. As always, thank you for your partnership in keeping students and staff safe. "

Cox Media Group