Boy, 14, Accused Of Fake 911 Call To Report Gunman At Dillard High School
FORT LAUDERDALE (CBSMiami) — A 14-year-old boy is facing serious charges after allegedly calling 911 to report a gunman at Dillard High School.
Police said the teen was arrested last Thursday for making the fake 911 call on March 11.
The call caused a disturbance at Dillard High School and Dillard Middle School.
The teen told dispatchers a student was carrying a gun on campus, causing the school to go on code-red lockdown.
"We received a 911 call, an anonymous caller claimed that a student at Dillard High had a gun in his waistband and was showing it to other students," said Fort Lauderdale Police Detective Tracey Figone.
Police went room to room at Dillard High School, searching for someone with a gun on campus.
"I was thinking about my life because I thought somebody was going to shoot up the place," said student Chayah Robinson.
Robinson and three others were in a room of the gym without a lock.
They came up with a quick plan to lock themselves in and waited for police.
"We had to lock ourselves in," Robinson explained. "We had to use an extension cord and tie it around the door and stuff."
Concerned and worried parents raced to school after getting texts and calls from their kids.
No threats were found during the search.
The boy, who was not identified due to his age, is charged with disrupting the peace, disturbing school functions and misuse of the 911 system.
Broward prosecutor Maria Schneider said these types of threats at schools are on the rise.
"In past years we would have one situation that involved a threat a month, maybe every few months and we are now having multiple threats on a weekly basis," she said. "I don't understand."
Schneider said these threat cases can result in an arrest as there is little tolerance for this behavior, whether it's a joke or not. She said the impact on students is real.
"The emotional cost, the effect of trauma we now know is intense and pervasive and being placed in that situation where you don't know what's what is something that can scar a child for the rest of their lives," Schneider said, adding that she hopes parents talk to their kids about the real consequences of making threats against a school.
Dillard High School is located in the 2500 block of NW 11th Street in Fort Lauderdale.