Boca Ciega High School in Gulfport spent part of Monday under lockdown after someone reported masked people carrying knives on campus, sending multiple law enforcement agencies racing to the scene. Officers searched the grounds but found no one there, and the lockdown was lifted by early afternoon.
Report Triggers Multi-Agency Response
Police responded Monday to a report of masked people armed with knives on the Boca Ciega High School grounds in Gulfport, according to the Tampa Bay Times. The school was put into lockdown, and officers from the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office, Pinellas County Schools Police, and the Indian Shores Police Department responded to the scene along with fire department personnel, WFLA reported. The Gulfport Police Department said it received a report describing three individuals wearing ski masks and carrying knives, though outlets differed slightly on the exact time the call came in.
Law enforcement searched the campus and did not locate any active threats, the station's report noted. Police did not find anyone at the school Monday, according to the same Tampa Bay Times account, and authorities reported no injuries, per FOX 13 Tampa Bay.
Lockdown Lifted, Search for Suspect Continues
School leaders sent a notification to families at approximately 12:22 p.m. confirming that officials had lifted the lockdown, FOX 13 reported. Despite the all-clear, investigators said surveillance cameras captured one person matching the description from the initial report walking away from school grounds, and they were pursuing leads to find that individual.
Investigators have not released the identities of the suspects or determined why they came to campus, according to the same FOX 13 account. IONTB reported that the information released by police did not indicate whether the surveillance video showed a weapon. The search for the person seen leaving campus remains active as police continue working the case.
