Sheriff responds to threats against Marathon High

The Monroe County Sheriff’s Office is investigating “non-specific threats” against Marathon Middle High School made Saturday morning on social media, three days after Florida’s worst school shooting.

“The threat is an Instagram post with a picture of guns and non-specific threats against Marathon High School,” said Adam Linhardt, a spokesman for the Sheriff’s Office, who did not release a copy of the post.

“The Sheriff’s office is working with the FBI, the Monroe County School District and Superintendent Mark Porter, the Monroe County State Attorney’s Office and other stakeholders to discover the origins of the threat and to respond to it,” Linhardt said.

As of 12:25 p.m., a 3 p.m. band event at Marathon Middle High School remains scheduled as planned.

“And the Sheriff’s Office will be there in full force,” Linhardt said.

Sheriff Rick Ramsay said he is impressed by the number of people who called in to report the threatening Instagram post.

“We always tell our citizens, ‘If you see something, say something,’” Ramsay said in a statement. “The fact that you are all communicating with your kids and monitoring them on social media and are aware of what is happening is impressive.”

Nikolas Cruz, 19, a former student at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, has been charged with 17 counts of premeditated murder and confessed to the crimes. Fourteen students, the school’s athletic director, a coach and a geography teacher were killed at the school on Wednesday.

This story was originally published February 17, 2018 at 12:46 PM with the headline "Sheriff responds to threats against Marathon High."