A charter bus filled with students from a Jewish community center in Miami was at the center of a bomb scare Friday, resulting in the temporary shutdown of a Turnpike service plaza in Fort Pierce, Florida. The bus, transporting students from the Michael-Ann Russell Jewish Community Center located in Northeast Miami-Dade, made a planned stop, when a student informed authorities of a bomb threat, said according to the Florida Highway Patrol.
Authorities sprang into action after the student shared a text message with a trooper, that indicated the potential presence of a bomb on one of the buses. Consequently, a broad evacuation was ordered, affecting the service plaza and placing students in a reportedly tense – and potentially dangerous – situation. According to a report by WSVN, the students were taken to a local school while the investigation was underway.
The scare prompted a sizable response from law enforcement, including the Florida Highway Patrol, Port St. Lucie police, who deployed an explosive detection dog and drone to aid in the overhead surveillance of the area, described Master Sgt. Dominick Mesiti, a police spokesperson. Despite the gravity of the threat, no explosives were found at the scene. After the area was secured and cleared by officers, the Turnpike's northbound lanes were reopened by 4:45 p.m, and the service plaza followed suit within minutes, as reported by TCPalm.
While police have given the all-clear signal, uncertainty still looms over the credibility of the threat. "It is undetermined currently if it is a credible threat," stated the Florida Highway Patrol in an evening news release, conveying that officers continue to sift through the evidence to "confirm (the) credibility of the source." Details pertaining to the investigation's progress have not been forthcoming.
