TALLAHASSEE, FL (WTXL) - Leon County School officials held a press conference Monday morning regarding social media threats made against four area schools, saying they were taking the threats "very seriously".
Officials say those schools included Lincoln, Godby and Rickards High Schools as well as Cobb Middle School.
Since the threats were made, there has been an increased law enforcement presence at those schools and principals are said to be enforcing a site safety plan at each school.
Any students who were not at school Monday are being given excused absences, according to LCS.
Parents were sent an email about the threats Monday:
"Dear Parents and community,
Recently, Leon County Schools was made aware of threats on social
media directed at three high schools: Godby, Lincoln, and Rickards. I would like to assure parents and the community that we do not take threats lightly. I have assigned extra security at the affected school sites. Administrators of these schools have been notified of the threats and are handling the situation appropriately. All of our school have well practiced safety plans in place.
At this time we are continuing to work with local law enforcement and will share information as it becomes available.
I would like to thank Sheriff Mike Wood, the Tallahassee Police Department, local law enforcement, school administrators and staff, and the local community for their support during this time.
The safety and the security of our students is our number one priority at all times.
Jackie Pons
Superintendent, Leon County Schools"
The Leon County Sheriff's Office is working on tracking the people who issued the threats and the department is pursuing a criminal investigation.
Deputies are asking anyone who may have information on the origins of the threats to contact Crime Stoppers at (850) 574-8477.
The district first addressed the threat Sunday evening on Facebook, saying they were in contact with the Sheriff's Department and that schools would be open Monday morning.
Gadsden County Schools are also looking into threats made against that district Monday morning. Deputies there say those threats are believed to be "rollover" from the Leon County threat.
Continue checking WTXL online and on-air for more details on this story.
