Law enforcement officers across Florida rushed to colleges and universities Tuesday morning in response to a spate of hoax active shooter calls.
Police responded to the campuses of Florida International University in Miami-Dade County, Palm Beach Atlantic University in West Palm Beach, and City College Hollywood, as well as the Broward College and Florida Atlantic University building in the 100 block of Las Olas Boulevard in downtown Fort Lauderdale, due to “suspicious” calls or false active shooter calls.
At FIU, the school ordered students to evacuate.
“A dangerous situation is occurring on or near campus!” the university tweeted. “Evacuate the area NOW.”
FIU Alert Update: This morning @FIUPOLICE received reports of an active shooter in AHC 3. Officers have cleared the building and are now conducting a methodical search.
There is no danger to anyone on campus.
The call appears to be false.— FIU (@FIU) May 2, 2023
The school later confirmed in a tweet that they had received a call about an active shooter that appeared to be false.
At Palm Beach Atlantic, over 60 police officers, fire rescue vehicles and school police responded to the call, according to Mike Jachles, a spokesperson for the West Palm Beach police department.
“It appears to be a hoax, there was no shooting,” he said. “But obviously we have to take every threat seriously.”
He didn’t know at the time how the call had come in.
Hollywood Police received a call of the threat to City College. Officers cleared the school and found no threat, said Deanna Bettineschi, a spokesperson for the police department.
“This is believed to be a swatting call,” she said.
#FLPD officers are responding to 111 East Las Olas Boulevard after receiving a suspicious call. We are working to confirm the validity of the call as well as the ensuring the safety of everyone in the area. We will update as soon as we have more information.
— Fort Lauderdale Police (@ftlauderdalepd) May 2, 2023
Meanwhile, the call in downtown Fort Lauderdale forced the lockdown of neighboring buildings, including the Broward County Government Center during a county meeting. A voice on the loudspeaker warned attendees about “activity in the area,” telling them to stay away from the doors and “remain calm.” The lockdown was lifted after about an hour.
Schools in other regions of the state received similar calls. Indian River State College locked down after multiple campuses received a hoax 911 call about an active shooter, the school tweeted. Social media reports indicated additional incidents occurred at the University of South Florida in Tampa, Santa Fe College in Gainesville and Tallahassee Community College.
Staff writer Lisa Huriash contributed to this report.
