Seminole County deputies released the 911 call made about the bomb threat hoax at several public schools. They hope someone will recognize the voice of the caller and help deputies find the suspect.
In the call you hear the caller list several schools were he said he placed the bombs. He tells the dispatcher he placed the bombs the night before, and he tells them what they are made of.
Eight elementary schools in Seminole County were evacuated Friday after a series of bomb threats. The FBI is investigating.
Similar bomb threats were made Monday that evacuated three schools in Lake County.
Anyone with information on who made the call is asked to call CrimeLine at (800) 423-TIPS (8477). You may be eligible for a $10,000 reward.
New alert system coming to Seminole County
Parents were upset because they said they didn't get any alerts from the school district about the threats.
School officials met at the Seminole County school headquarters to go over Friday’s school evacuations and review with school principals what worked and what didn’t work. But one thing they all agree on is the need for an upgraded system, since right now each school has its own way of alerting families.
It took one call to put an entire school district on alert and evacuate eight Seminole County elementary schools on Friday. But parents said they were the ones left in the dark, and blame the outdated system.
“Those numbers get called one at a time," school spokesman Michael Lawrence said. "Some parents won’t get that notification right away. Sometimes hours, sometimes a day later.”
But that should all change in the next few weeks when the district rolls out a new notification system. Alerts will go out over phones, texts, email and Twitter. And district officials want to assure families and people who make these hoax calls that they will be punished.
“Folks who are thinking about doing things like this or copying those types of situations to understand that there is a severe punishment involved here," Lawrence said.
Once caught, the bomb threat caller could face up to 16 years behind bars. The Seminole County Sheriff’s Office said the charges would be the same for an adult or child. But the sentencing could be very different.
In February, a 12-year-old Greenwood Lakes Middle School student called 911 saying there was a shooter at Lake Mary High School. The scene mirrored the chaos on Friday as parents rushed to schools to make sure their children were ok. The boy behind February’s hoax spent one weekend in juvenile detention and was released on probation.
Right now, Seminole County investigators are not connecting Monday's threats in Lake County to Friday’s threats.
The FBI and FDLE are offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to the person behind Friday’s hoax threat. If you have information, call Crimeline at 1-800-423-TIPS (8477).