The Alachua County Sheriff’s Office (ACSO) has declared Tuesday morning’s school threat made toward Buchholz High School a hoax.
According to releases sent by ACSO and the Alachua County Public Schools (ACPS), law enforcement has cleared Buchholz of any credible school threat.
An ACSO social media release sent Tuesday morning stated, “We are aware of a potential threat to schools circulating on social media. Deputies have investigated the threat and have found it to be not credible. This threat list has been shared multiple times over several days and the schools on the list appear to change as it’s shared. Please continue to be vigilant and stop sharing the post.”
ACPS spokesperson Jackie Johnson followed with an email.
“Just in case you get any calls, I wanted you to be aware that we have sent this message to all families and staff in the district regarding a HOAX threat,” Johnson said in the release. “The Sheriff’s Office also posted something this morning on its X page.
“There is a FALSE threat circulating on social media. The threat refers to ‘BHS,’ and it is showing up across the state and nation. The FBI and other law enforcement agencies have confirmed that this is NOT a credible threat,” she said.
This marks another incident in a slew of school threats made over the past week throughout North Central Florida.
On Friday, the Union County Sheriff’s Office took two students into custody for making a threat to Lake Butler Elementary School.
The Columbia County Sheriff’s Office held a press conference on Wednesday after three straight days of arrests. On Sept. 8, a 13-year-old Madison County boy was arrested for making threats to Columbia and Madison county schools, and then a 17-year-old boy and 14-year-old girl were apprehended on Sept. 9 and Sept. 10 for making threats to Fort White High School.
Last Wednesday, Chiefland schools were put on “secure campus” status while law enforcement investigated a potential threat, which later was determined to be unfounded.
The school threats have ramped up after 14-year-old Colt Gray killed two students and two teachers and injured nine others in a shooting on Sept. 4 at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia.
From August 2021 to September 2023, there were dozens of social media threats at schools throughout North Central Florida. The most recent came on Sept. 18, 2023, when a 13-year-old was arrested for emailing bomb threats to Buchholz High School and Kanapaha Middle School in Gainesville.