'You probably shouldn't show up to school on Monday': Charter school threat raises safety concerns

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — A teenager faces felony charges after he was accused of making threats against an Orange County charter school.

Winter Garden police said the 16-year-old Legacy High School student threatened to shoot up the school.

The incident is raising safety concerns because despite a state mandate saying all charter schools need school resource officers, Orange County Public Schools said each charter school needs to make its own safety arrangements.

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Winter Garden police said the scare happened Friday, when students came forward with information about Richard Everett, 16.

“[He] started making comments like, ‘You probably shouldn’t show up to school on Monday,’ making Columbine-type statements,” said Lt. Scott Allen, from the Winter Garden Police Department.

The police report said Everett said “that he would come to school with a black trench coat, boots, and a shotgun.”

Allen said the SRO, who is a Winter Garden police officer, quickly responded.

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Under a new state law, charter schools, like public schools, are required to have school resource officers. In some parts of Central Florida, charter schools have requested help from districts.

For Orange County, the district said it’s up to the county’s 39 charter schools to make those arrangements.

Some parents have expressed concern that they weren’t notified about the incidents until Tuesday, when they received an email from the school.

Police said Everett is expelled from school and is facing a felony.

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