Daytona Beach school ramps up security after online threat follows scare of firecrackers mistaken for gunfire

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Parents and students at Mainland High School noticed an uptick in security Friday after three students were arrested after reports of a shooting turned out to be firecrackers being set off during school Thursday.

READ MORE: Three 9th-graders arrested after firecrackers mistaken for gunfire at Daytona Beach school, police investigating threat

Here’s what we know so far:

• Police were called out to the school around 12:30 p.m. following reports of a shooting.
• After searching the school, officials found firecrackers in one of the school’s stairwells.
• Three 9th grade students were arrested in connection to the incident and will face charges of disruption of a school function and bringing an explosive device onto school property.
• A post began to circulate on social media after the incident, claiming the stunt was a test to see how long it would take for police to arrive to the scene, but police didn’t believe that threat is credible after speaking to the student responsible.

Police later announced that they arrested the person responsible for posting the threat online.

Channel 9′s cameras noticed that the school’s parking lot was considerably less full than usual on Friday following the threat.

There were no injuries reported in the initial incident involving the firecrackers.

Daytona Beach Police Chief Craig Capri said dozens of parents approached him at the school looking for an explanation.

“When I went to the scene, parents were ... hysterical, which is expected," he said. “Then you have the students inside (who) are traumatized. We had several instances where students had panic attacks.”

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