Classes canceled on Sarasota-Manatee campus following active shooter false alarm
All classes and activities were canceled on Sarasota-Manatee campus on Tuesday after USF deployed its emergency response system following a false report of shots fired on campus, according to an email sent to students from President Rhea Law.
The emergency response was triggered by a false alarm as part of a state-wide college campus shooting hoax, according to a tweet by Manatee Sheriff Charles Wells.
After working with @CampusPoliceSRQ to investigate reports of a shooting at @USFSM today, deputies have cleared campus and determined no shooting took place and no one was injured. This appears to be part of a state-wide swatting hoax at Florida colleges.
— Manatee Sheriff (@ManateeSheriff) May 2, 2023
Several colleges were affected by the hoax, including South Florida State College’s Highlands County campus, FIU, Indian River State College, Palm Beach Atlantic University and FAU, according to a Tampa Bay 10 report.
The Manatee county sheriff’s office held a news conference with USFSM campus police on Tuesday afternoon where he said that $100,000 of resources had been used by the false alarm, and they were still looking for the perpetrator.
This is a developing story. Stay with The Oracle for updates.
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