St. Petersburg College campus closes after threat

St. Petersburg College received a nonspecific threat to its Gibbs campus this morning, prompting school officials to immediately evacuate the campus and close the campus for the day.

An unidentified student, upset over a final grade he received in a science class, made several threats that he would do harm to the campus, but he did not elaborate, school officials said.

“He said that he was unhappy and that he might come to the campus and do damage,” said Amelia Carey, college spokeswoman. “Someone else called a tip line and said that the student had made potential harmful threats to campus.”

The tip came in at about 11:40 a.m. The Gibbs campus was immediately cleared, police were contacted and security guards at other campuses were put on alert, Carey said today.

One fallout: The organ series concert scheduled for tonight at the St. Petersburg College Music Center has been canceled.

- Cristina Silva, Times staff writer

Comments

[T.H. from st pete]

I think the families of these individuals that are having issues, need to take it upon themselves to protect the public from individuals that are unstable. we all get upset here and there but it is not the end of the world and it is certainly not a reason to take advantage of innocent people, expecials in our schools. Also people need to get off their cell phones and pay attention to what is happening around them..........

it's time to install those metal detectors.......save our kids

[ab]

I think it's kind of immature to threaten violence just because you don't get what you want. Young people these days think that they're entitled to good grades, a great job right out of school with a huge salary and a nice house...Well, guess what? Real life doesn't always work that way! Ya take what you're given and work to do better.

[Holly]

Our society has become more angry and people who run on our emotions. We are not taught to think and think of the outcome. It come first in our homes...I guess parents get an "F!"

[Sue]

This threat is over a bad grade! Why haven't we taught our children better- how to handle themselves when things don't go their way! We need to teach our children how to handle their emotions, many adults too need to learn that too. Enoughs enoughs - children should have to die over a bad grade.

It takes hard work to get where you want to be. Nobody dumped anything in my lap, I had to work hard. Our society today is can I have a cell phone, when do I get a car, can I have a check book? Good golly! Wake up young people be resonsbile and its up to you to get you where you want to be. What's so hard about that?

Why can't these things happen on a day when *I* have class???

First the SPC Clearwater campus had to be locked down on Monday due to a man with a gun making threats against a student, now this. We all wonder when the day will come that we are in the classroom when someone opens fire.

[JOHN OBEIRNE]

ALL STAFF AND STUDENTS ON ALL CAMPUSES SHOULD CARRY SIDEARMS

[Melissa Durbin]

First generation from a narcissitc generation. ME ME ME. This is what happens when everyone wins, and is told they are special even when they fail!!

[kevin]

College administrations see many students with "issues" and these crazies are still kept in school. In Florida the faculty is the last to know who these crazies are until they get threatened by email,in person, or has a fellow faculty member tell them of their own experiences from the past semester. It's easier to pass these nuts than it is to get shot especially when they are known and hidden from faculty and staff.

[Frank]

So every time there is a shooting, someone says it is because people aren't allowed to carry guns to school or in the mall (i.e. if someone had a gun, s/he could just shoot the killer and save everyone's life). That sounds great in theory, but I suspect it would actually lead to a lot of people shooting (and getting shot) haphazardly when panic sets in.

To the poster who said staff and students should carry guns to campus. You must be joking. What a nightmare. Visualize: I'm teaching a class and some student isn't happy because they don't like their grade because they didn't take time to prepare for the exam. They stand up and pull their gun and take a shot at me. I pull my gun and try to take a shot back at them before I fall to the ground. All of a sudden everyone in class is shooting at everyone else as self-protection. Yeah right. That makes me feel safer as a teacher.