ST. LUCIE COUNTY, Fla. — The St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office Bomb Team responded to a reported bomb threat at Fort Pierce Central High School on Friday afternoon.
WATCH BELOW: 'My heart was shaking, I was nervous,' Angela Jones tells WPTV's Port St. Lucie reporter Tyler Hatfield
The area around Fort Pierce Central High School was secured and evacuated at around 1 p.m., while personnel conducted their assessment, evaluation and investigation, the sheriff's office said.
Lydia Martin of St. Lucie County Public Schools told WPTV parents were notified of the threat. A second message was sent to parents confirming the school had been cleared by law enforcement. Students were released from school and after school activities will resume as planned, Martin said.
During the incident, the sheriff's office asked the public to avoid the affected area and follow all instructions from law enforcement and emergency personnel. Residents were also asked not to approach or handle any suspicious items and to report any additional concerns or suspicious activity by calling 911.
Parents rushed to the school to pick up their children following the evacuation. Angela Jones, who was there to pick up her son, described the moment she heard the news.
"That's my only child. So, you know, I'm just like, okay, what do I do, you know? Yeah, very scary," she said.
WATCH BELOW: St. Lucie County Sheriff Richard Del Toro gives WPTV update on bomb threat
Jones said the timing made the situation even more unsettling.
"My heart was shaking, I was nervous," she said. "I can't believe this, on a Friday, too, with a long weekend coming up."
Cleveland Jamison Jr., a freshman at Fort Pierce Central High School, said he was inside the school when the threat was made.
"Everybody got scared, everybody ran into the room and all the kids were going crazy—people were calling their moms,"he said.
The St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office Bomb Team gave the all clear at around 3 p.m. following comprehensive sweeps of Fort Pierce Central High School. No devices were located, and the scene has been deemed safe, deputies said.
St. Lucie County Sheriff Del Toro said his office takes all threats seriously, but noted the real-world consequences of false alarms.
"We take everything serious, but, you know, those types of pranks cost the communities a lot of money and obviously school time when stuff like that happens," he said. "When those happen, we do follow do a thorough follow-up investigation, and if we can arrest somebody in those types of calls, we make sure we do that."
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