Authorities are are working to figure out who was behind a bomb threat that forced an evacuation at Mandarin High School Thursday.
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The evacuation came hours after the principal told parents that the school was swept by police.
The school had to be swept a second time for possible threats while students sat in bleachers outside for more than four hours in 91-degree heat.
Sweaty, sunburned students could be seen sprinting for home when they were finally released around 2:20 p.m. Other students reported shortages of water, and fire trucks and ambulances could be seen coming and going from the Southside campus all day.
Parents were left upset and demanding answers.
“I feel like the kids are being held hostage,” Jamie Glavich, a parent whose daughter goes to the school, said. “I called JSO. JSO said they can’t get involved because this is not their department.”
Action News Jax reached out to the school district to find out why students and staff were forced to evacuate after the principal told parents that a sweep had already been done.
Another parent, Story Alexander, says she would not have let her daughter go to school if she knew about the threat earlier.
“I think the district definitely needs to do do some sort of meeting [with parents],” Alexander said. “This is ridiculous.”