Law Enforcement Storms Middle School After Armed Gunman Reported

WESTCHASE, FL -- After more than 55 sheriff's deputies checked every nook and cranny of Farnell Middle School Wednesday morning for a reported gunman, detectives with the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office concluded that there was never an intruder on the school campus at 13912 Nine Eagles Drive in Tampa.

Just before 10 a.m., a sixth-grade student told a teacher that, while on her way back from the restroom, she saw a man dressed in black carrying a gun on campus.

The teacher notified a school resource deputy who promptly responded to the area where the student claimed she saw the man to conduct a search. Minutes later, the entire campus of Farnell Middle School, as well as nearby Bryant Elementary School, were flooded with deputies and school security officers.

Both schools were put on "lockout." meaning students and staff were told to remain in their classrooms as deputies searched the hallways and each room for the gunman. Middle school students were then sent to the auditorium to go through metal detectors.

The student who claimed to see the gunman later admitted that she fabricated the entire story.

"As a parent, it concerns me and is heart wrenching that 1,300 students just had to go in lockout, which means they had to barricade in place as [deputies] stormed the campus. That's traumatic that these children had to go through that, and its absolutely intolerable," said Sheriff Chad Chronister.

More than 55 sheriff's personnel were called to assist in the search, including aviation, motor and K9 units, said Chronister. Working in unison, detectives and deputies were able to quickly determine that there was no threat and that both school campuses were safe, the sheriff said.

Both schools were taken off lockout and placed on lock-down. Students were back in their classrooms by 1 p.m.

"To say I'm ecstatic with the response would be an understatement. As tragic as this is for the students that just had to endure the entire process of what happens when we go into a lockout at a school, the good news is that every child is safe and the threat has been unfounded," said Chronister.

While he said school resource deputies and patrol deputies are trained to respond to school-based threats, the approaching anniversary of the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School heightened the sense of urgency in Wednesday's response, said Chronister.

The 12-year-old sixth-grade student at Farnell Middle School was arrested and charged with disrupting a school assembly (a second-degree misdemeanor) and giving a false report concerning the use of a firearm in a violent manner (a second-degree felony).

"As large of an advocate as I am for keeping our young people out of the criminal justice system with all of the diversion programs and all of our preventative programs, this is one area where I'm not willing to compromise," said Chronister. "There's no room for any type of entertainment or joke, any type of made-up threat. I think that the only way to handle this is by taking a hard-line stance and making sure all of our children know, if you make a school-based threat, it's no different than making a threat in an airport or in an airplane. It's going to be [prosecuted] to the fullest extent."

Images via Hillsborough Sheriff

Armed deputies stormed the campus of the middle school looking for what proved to be a fictitious gunman.

Sheriff's deputies set up a command center directing a search of every room in the school.

Sheriff Chad Chronister reassures parents gathered at a nearby Winn-Dixie.

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