SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. — The Seminole County Sheriff’s Office, along with the FBI and Florida Department of Law Enforcement, are working to find out who made a hoax bomb threat call that resulted in eight Seminole County elementary schools being evacuated Friday.
There's a $10,000 reward for information leading to an arrest.
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The all-clear was given after a hectic afternoon, filled with frustration for parents.
The eight schools that were evacuated were: Casselberry, Lawton, English Estates, Red Bug, Spring Lake, Winter Springs, Forrest City and Lake Orienta.
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Sheriff's officials said that at about 1:30 p.m. Friday, their office received a phone call advising there were bombs in three Seminole County elementary schools. Investigators said the bombs were said to be at Casselberry Elementary, Winter Springs Elementary and Oviedo Elementary.
There is no Oviedo Elementary School in Seminole County.
Officials said that initially they were told that additional schools were receiving similar calls, but that proved to be incorrect.
Officials said they decided to err on the side of caution and evacuate several schools in the area. They sent deputies and firefighters to check all of the county's schools.
Investigators are working with the school district and are actively investigating where the calls came from and who may have made them.
According to Seminole County School District officials students from several schools were moved to other locations, including:
Casselberry Elementary students moved to South Seminole Middle School.
Lawton Elementary students moved to Oviedo High School
Lake Orienta/Hopper Elementary students moved to Grace Church on Maitland Boulevard
Stenstrom Elementary moved to Reformed Theological Seminary
Spring Lake Elementary moved to Brown's Gym
Terrified parents and police officers flooded schools countywide as soon as notifications about the threats were sent out.
Within three hours, school leaders tweeted the “all clear” and emotions shifted from fear to anger.
“Just an idiot, to do something like this and scare children,” said parent Heather Larrimore.
Traffic was gridlocked around South Seminole Middle School, which sits next to Casselberry Elementary School.
Parents who arrived at the school told Channel 9 reporter Mario Boone they were frustrated with bomb threat calls disrupting lives and look forward to investigators catching the caller.
"All the law enforcement out here, all the teachers -- it's just insane," Larrimore said.
Some parents said school officials failed to notify them in a timely manner.
A school district spokesperson later explained why notifying worried parents wasn’t their first priority as they worked to evacuate students to safety.
“They must understand that it’s for the safety of their own kids,” said Michael Lawrence with Seminole County Public Schools.
Traffic was also a problem in Altamonte Springs where Lake Orienta parents were picking up their children, but by 4 p.m. most of the children had been picked up and traffic had returned to normal.
Weather made it difficult for those moving the students as heavy rain was moving through the area at the same time the evacuations began.
Anyone with information about this crime is urged to call CrimeLine at 800-423-TIPS or the Seminole County Sheriff's Office at 407-665-6650.