SOUTHWEST, Fla. — The threats made against Cape Coral and Mariner High Schools this week are part of a growing and violent trend, according to new research.
The Educator’s School Safety Network, a non-profit that tracks school threats, found the number of violent threats at U.S. schools in the first half of the 2023/24 school year has increased by 13% compared to the same time frame the previous school year.
The same research shows the presence of weapons on campus increased dramatically by 228% in the last year.
Nearly 1/5th of all incidents in schools, according to the research, involves a weapon.
Here in Southwest Florida, last month two 10-year-old boys in LaBelle were arrested for allegedly buying and selling a firearm.
RELATED: Two 10-year-olds arrested in gun sale at LaBelle school, deputies say
“We very well stopped a school shooting from happening at that elementary school,” said Hendry County Schools Superintendent Michael Swindle.
Swindle credits a new statewide threat assessment program with stopping a potential tragedy.
