Man told student arriving late he'd 'blow' Cape Coral High up; several schools on lockdown

Tomas Rodriguez, Fort Myers News-Press
Updated ·1 min read

A Cape Coral High School student arriving late crossed paths with a man on the street who claimed he'd "blow" the school up, which then put five Cape Coral schools on lockdown Wednesday morning and launched a search.

Irma Lancaster, director of communications at the Lee County School District, said Cape Coral High School was placed on lockdown around 7:50 a.m. Wednesday — about five minutes after classes began.

"Our agency takes potential threats very seriously and is actively working to ensure the safety of all students," police said.

Around 9:10 a.m., Cape Coral police said Heritage Charter Academy, Skyline Elementary, Challenger Middle School and Patriot Elementary were also placed on lockdown.

Around 10:45 a.m., Rob Spicker, spokesperson for the School District, said authorities lifted the lockdowns for the different schools.

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Lancaster, who said classes continued as scheduled as authorities searched for the suspect, said it wasn't clear how long the lockdowns could last.

The Lee County Sheriff's Office is assisting in the investigation.

Police said around 4 p.m. Wednesday a suspect was in custody, although their identity wasn't immediately released. Authorities said initial reports indicated the suspect was dressed in camouflage attire and carrying a backpack.

In a statement, Cape Coral Police Deputy Chief Dana S. Coston said Wednesday afternoon that detectives had a suspect in custody on unrelated charges.

Police said they'll provide further updates once the State Attorney's Office makes a charging decision.

Authorities said they also investigated reports of potential gunfire near the parking lots of Publix and Target, directly across Cape Coral High. They said they determined a motorcycle backfiring caused the soundse.

Tomas Rodriguez is a Breaking/Live News Reporter for the Naples Daily News and The News-Press. You can reach Tomas at TRodriguez@gannett.com or 772-333-5501. Connect with him on Threads @tomasfrobeltran, Instagram @tomasfrobeltran and Facebook @tomasrodrigueznews.

This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: Cape Coral lockdown: Bomb threat puts 5 schools on watch