School faces longterm lockdown over threat

For the better part of a week, outdoor activities were off-limits for the 500 students at Town and Country Elementary. Classroom doors were locked. Students couldn't wait for parents at dismissal time in front of the school, but were released one by one from the cafeteria.

The restrictions, which school officials call a modified lockdown, followed a threat against a child. The mother reportedly feared the father would harm the child. The parents are estranged.

"We're going to err on the side of caution," schools spokeswoman Linda Cobbe said. "We would rather not inconvenience anyone, but if it's a question of inconveniencing some folks versus protecting a child's safety, we're going to protect the child's safety."

Town and Country Elementary first went into a modified lockdown last Wednesday. Students were kept inside and classroom doors kept locked. The school continued in this mode through the end of the week.

On Monday, officials allowed students to participate in some outside activities, but they went back into a lockdown Tuesday following a new threat. As of this morning, the school is allowing students outside for PE, but continues to control access to the campus.

Cobbe said lockdowns following threats against students happen once a month or less, but it's rare for one to last so long.

The threat appeared to lift Wednesday afternoon, after the father accused of making the threats was arrested.

Comments

[Jenn X]

For their own good!?!That phrase is like "trust me".
(Ladies explain that to your man friends.)

[dew]

And not any of the other parents were upset that 500 kids had to change their normal routine and live in fear rather than keep ONE kid at home? But then again, this IS Florida, so perhaps everyone thinks Linda Cobbe's panic reaction was the only option.

[Reed]

That's some fine school administration there, Lou. Let's lockdown an entire school and put 500 children - and their parents - in fear because one child may be in danger. Jesus, do you farking Florida people even think any more or do you just drone about like honey bees?

[Ryan Larkin]

I think Linda Cobbe should be locked in a padded room to "err on the side of caution" and prevent her from turning those poor kids into mindless sheep!!

[Bill Smitj]

Yet another reason to home school your children. Sending your child to a government school is child abuse

[p-dawg]

So....a non-student possibly made a threat against a student and so all the students must be locked down? What? Well, at least the students got to learn how to live in modern America. Good thing that father didn't threaten TWO kids.... they might have had to throw the whole school in jail. You know, for their own safety.

[Voice Of Reason]

All this trouble caused by a woman's accusation... Women routinely falsely accuse the father to gain an advantage in custody battles. The guy never knew what hit him. SHE should go to jail!

[Dave]

I'm quite sure we're raising a generation of terrified wimps. Thanks for nothing, modern parents.

[Dave]

Why not just take the kid out of school instead of changing the entire system?

Too common sense for a Florida school?

[mike]

Where is this guy? Shouldn't he be in lockdown?

[Lynn]

The mother and child need to go to a domestic violence shelter until the creep is caught. Mother is endangering her own and other children by allowing her child to continue to go to school there.

[K]

Shouldn't they already control access to the school campus?

[Leeanne]

There should be armed SWAT Officers on the roof of every school in Florida.
If Florida is "Paradise" I can't wait to get to HELL!!!!

Someone call the Governor because obviously all of these kids are going to be fat when they get older because they didn't get PE for a few weeks (sarcasm). I just hope the PE police don't show up at that school.