Threat found inside Southeast High School bathroom on Thursday

Students and staff at Southeast High School in Bradenton were ordered to “shelter in place” on Thursday afternoon after a threat was found in a bathroom on campus.

At about 1 p.m., a threatening note was found in one of the school’s bathrooms and the school was placed on a “shelter in place” alert, in which students and staff may freely move around inside the campus but no one can leave or enter the the school grounds.

The threat is being investigated and anyone found responsible will face criminal charges, according to Manatee County School District spokesman Michael Barber. While the threat is being investigated, there will be additional law enforcement presence on campus.

The Manatee County Sheriff’s Office confirmed it is investigating the threat, according to spokesman Randy Warren, but is not releasing any details of that investigation.

A robo-call was sent out to Southeast parents from Principal Rosa Faison notifying them of the threat.

“Please remember, anyone involved in a threat against a school, even if made in jest, will face serious, life-altering consequences,” Faison said to families. “Southeast High is a safe place for students and staff, and we continue to do everything we can to maximize safety on our campus.“

Last school year, the high school saw at least two similar threats following the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkand on Feb. 14 that left 17 people dead as other schools in the county, state and country were plagued with a rash of threats.

The first of those threats came exactly a week following the Parkland shooting after a threatening note was discovered in one of the bathrooms on the campus. For about three hours, students and staff were in a full lockdown as the sheriff’s office investigated the threat and it would take an additional hour before hour an all-clear was given.

By then parents had gathered outside of the school as many shared terrified messages with each other from their children inside the school. About 500 of the school’s 1,700 students at the school signed out or were signed out of school early following the all clear.

The sheriff’s office never identified a suspect.

Nearly a month after Parkland, on March 12, yet another threat was found inside a Southeast High School bathroom. That led to a 45-minute lockdown and then a “shelter in place” status until the end of the school day. No suspect was ever identified in that threat either.

This story was originally published October 18, 2018 at 4:48 PM.