ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Up to 15 years in prison and a maximum fine of $10,000. Those are some of the penalties someone could face for falsely reporting a crime under a Florida law passed in 2021.
Those penalties could be on the table after numerous false reports of active shooters were called in across central and South Florida Tuesday.
Law enforcement in Pinellas Park, Sarasota, and St. Petersburg all responded to reports of active shooters at local schools Tuesday. All were deemed hoaxes, and students were never in harm's way.
They were part of at least 13 schools in Florida that saw hoax calls about threats or active shooters made to law enforcement. The schools involved were in Pinellas, Sarasota, Orange, Palm Beach, Broward, and Miami-Dade counties.
False shooting reports have been reported about schools across the country in the last few weeks. Wired.com reported at least 90 schools across the country have been victims of false shooting reports since mid-September.
The FBI said in a statement that it's aware of the false reports and is continuing to work on the issue.
“The FBI is aware of numerous swatting incidents wherein a report of an active shooter at a school is made. The FBI takes swatting very seriously because it puts innocent people at risk. While we have no information to indicate a specific and credible threat, we continue to work with our local, state, and federal law enforcement partners to gather, share, and act upon threat information as it comes to our attention. We urge the public to remain vigilant, and report any and all suspicious activity and/or individuals to law enforcement immediately.”
