Parkland Trial Leads to Hoax School Threats

South Florida schools are reportedly being hit with fake shooting threats Tuesday morning as the Parkland school shooter's trial heads to closing arguments.

Journalists in South Florida have compiled reports of school shooting hoaxes.

WSVN-7 Miami's Frank Guzman tweeted: "Running list of South Fla schools who have had bogus shooting incidents called in this morning:

• Miami Central HS.
• Ronald Reagan HS (Doral).
• West Broward HS (Pembroke Pines).
• Pompano Beach HS.
• Dillard HS (Ft Laud).
• Boca Raton HS.
• Flanagan High (Pembroke Pines).

"All Broward high schools had to be placed on 'secure' status (modified lockdown) as a result of these swatting calls," Guzman added in another tweet. "All have resumed normal operations."

Hoax threats on schools have historically been placed by students to get out of school, according to Walden University College of Social and Behavioral Health counselor Rebecca Cowen to Newsweek.

"These are very similar to what we see when bomb threats are called into the courts," Cowen told Newsweek. "It's people taking advantage of the situation. It could be to get out of class or to cause some sort of disruption is usually motivation behind those calls."

Cowen added true threats generally come without warning, making the call-ins a giveaway to a hoax, but police still have to treat all threats as dangerous until the situation is ruled safe.

The Parkland shooter murdered 17 people and attempted to murder 17 others at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in 2018. Attorneys are delivering closing statements in the trial this week, as the jury will decide whether he gets the death penalty or life in prison.

There were "at least 30 active shooter false alarms and threats made at schools" last month, USA Today reported.

And, Tiktok, which has alleged ties to China, has been circulating a social media trend calling for students to call in school shooting hoaxes, according to the report.

• Florida School Shooter May Have Been His Own Worst Witness
• Expert: School Shooter Faked Fetal Alcohol Symptoms