ST. JOHNS, Fla. — Fear was on the minds of many students and teachers at Bartram Trail High School today. The school increased security on campus due to a school threat.
The communication person with the St. Johns County School District tells me more than 2,100 students did not go to school today. And the total enrollment number is about 3,000.
“I mean it’s something we have to worry about every day,” one parent who did not want to share her name said. “It’s not just when we get warnings.”
This parent has two kids currently attending Bartram Trail High School. One is a freshman; another is a junior. Both her children went to school today.
“We can’t live our lives in fear,” the parent said. “I do live my life in fear, but I can’t make my choices on that.”
She also had a child that graduated from Bartram Trail High last year.
“During his high school experience, we had a lot of bomb threats, and so I saw this as similar to that,” the parent said.
In an email sent to parents last Friday, stated in part, “There was a possible threat to the school written on a restroom stall.”
Ryan Yeoman says it was a message written in the girl’s restroom.
“All I remember was it was black ink saying, ‘I’m going to shoot up the school on whatever day today is,’” Yeoman said.
Yeoman chose not to go to school today.
“It was kind of a free day. I mean you still be worried about it, but it’s high school,” Yeoman said. “We’re high school kids. We’re not really going to think about it.”
In a statement, a school district spokesperson told Action News Jax, “We take all threats seriously, even when the credibility of the threat is in question.”
So today, the school increased its police presence on campus.
“I was really happy how the school responded,” the parent said. “Lots of law enforcement, lots of support from the teachers and staff saying if you don’t feel safe, it’s going to be an excused absence.”
Action News Jax reached out to the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office requesting more details about the threat. But we are still waiting to hear back.
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