By DON FLETCHER
News Staff Writer
Escambia County Superintendent of Education Dr. Michele Collier said county school system officials and investigators with the county sheriff’s office determined that “no credible evidence” was found to validate a “potential school threat” allegedly made against Flomaton High School over the weekend.
Dr. Collier issued a statement on Sunday, revealing that nothing could be found to justify the threat having been made. She admitted that every threat is taken seriously until an investigation is conducted to determine the threat’s credibility.
“A serious matter occurred over the weekend at Flomaton High School,” said the superintendent, who added that sheriff’s investigators and education officials concurred after a thorough investigation that “no credible threat was found.”
School officials across the nation have been on edge since September 4, when a 14-year-old student at Apalachee High School, near Winder, Ga., used an automatic rifle to kill two fellow students and two teachers and wound nine other people.
Dr. Collier said she believed in a “better safe than sorry” philosophy when it comes to protecting students and school system employees from harm. Officials at each county school will start using recently installed metal detectors to their fullest extent, and local police will start keeping an extra eye on local educational facilities.
“We take these matters very seriously and only want to protect our school communities,” the system’s top administrator continued. “As part of our response to this situation, we will be utilizing our metal detectors more thoroughly and frequently, and local law enforcement will be visible and monitoring our schools.”
Implementation of the enhanced safety measures is designed not only to protect everyone on campus, but to “provide peace of mind to our students, staff, and community,” Dr. Collier said. “Please rest assured that safety is our top priority, and we are unwavering in our commitment to take all necessary measures to ensure it.”
A posting on the county sheriff’s Facebook page echoed the superintendent’s concern.
“As always, our number one priority is to protect our students and faculty,” the posting reads. “We will continue to look into any threat, big or small, and treat them with the highest priority.”
Police in Atmore, East Brewton and Flomaton agreed to help provide an enhanced presence at each county school within the respective agency’s jurisdiction on Monday morning, September 9, and to increase regular patrols in school zones.
Police Chief Chuck Brooks was out of town on Monday, but a spokesman for the police department confirmed that the threat prompted the calling in of off-duty officers to help make sure all schools within the city limits and former police jurisdiction were properly covered.
“We had extra officers all day long at each school in Atmore,” the spokesman said. “We’re already there at the schools every day, but we stepped it up a little today and had extra folks come in.”