By Kevin Deutsch
A juvenile who falsely claimed they saw a student at J.P. Taravella High School with a gun—a claim that led to a “code red” lockdown at the school—has been arrested in Texas, authorities said.
According to Coral Springs Police, the department received a call on Feb. 23 from someone claiming to be a student at the high school. The caller said that they saw a male student in possession of a firearm and that he was still on school grounds.
The call was made during school hours and led to authorities placing Taravella on a “Code Red” lockdown, police said. Officers rushed to secure the school while students and teachers put their emergency training into practice.
Police conducted a room-to-room search on school grounds and found the student allegedly in possession of the firearm. No weapon was found in his possession, police said.
Police soon learned the call was a false complaint “designed to create chaos and maliciously harass the student,” the department said in a Facebook post Monday.
Two videos posted on social media corroborated the fact the complaint was bogus, police said.
The author of the videos was identified, and police assigned the case to members of the CSPD Investigative Unit.
By analyzing the suspect’s internet traffic, detectives were able to trace the juvenile’s online activity to a residence in Irving, Texas.
Coral Springs Police coordinated with authorities in Texas. Their work led to the juvenile’s positive identification and arrest for making the false report to law enforcement, police said.
The arrest was made by the Irving Police Department in Texas, police said.
No additional information about the case was made public Monday.
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Author Profile
- Kevin Deutsch is an award-winning crime journalist and author. A graduate of Florida International University, Kevin has worked on staff at The Miami Herald, New York Daily News, and The Palm Beach Post.
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