Flagler Palm Coast High School was locked down for a few minutes in early afternoon today following reports of a robbery in the Target shopping center nearby.
“There was a robbery somewhere in the Target plaza,” Mike Judd, a senior administrator at the school district, said. “The person never got on campus and was apprehended. They were on lockdown for about 5 minutes.”
Judd added: “Any time that there’s a serious crime like that in the area they’ll lock down just in case the person would attempt to get on campus, but there’s no indication they got anywhere near the campus.”
As it turned out, however, there was no robbery. Maj. Steve Clair of the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office said a shopper at Target had bought two suitcases. When she got to her car, she loaded one and forgot the second one behind, and drove off. When she realized she only had one of the suitcases, she called her daughter in Daytona Beach and said she’d been robbed. That report made it back to Palm Coast, triggering the chain of events that led to the lockdown. In fact, someone else in the parking lot, finding the forgotten suitcase, wheeled it back into the store.
There was a lockdown at Buddy Taylor Middle School earlier in the day when the Sheriff’s Office was called in on a report of a domestic disturbance in a neighboring residence. The man involved in that disturbance had fled into the woods near the school, triggering the lockdown. That man was apprehended, and Buddy Taylor resumed normal operations.
FPC, too, resumed normal operations and campus began emptying for the long weekend: there’s no school on Monday, in observance of the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, or on Tuesday, a teacher work day.
PCadiron says
You forgot to put your merchandise in the car, then say you were robbed?? By what, an invisible robber? Doesn’t make much sense to me.
Kyle Russell says
During Midterms, no less. As if I needed any more stress during my Math HL test.
Ralph Belcher says
It doesn’t make any sense for someone to say they were robbed in this situation. Never forget, however, Truth is stranger than fiction, beacuse fiction -has- to make sense.
Ralph Belcher says
Perhaps an awkward expression was misunderstood and went on from there during the course of the caller’s conversation…broken connection, who knows?
lawabidingcitizen says
As we drove by the high school this morning, we commented once again on what a foolish location it is for a school — across the street from the airport on a busy major road. Next came a large regional hospital, major hotels, major medical complexes, a large shopping center with probably more to come.
The last thing kids need is a campus surrounded by increased air traffic, associated noise and automobile traffic.
I guess it was another one of ITT’s gifts local leaders couldn’t refuse.
k says
FPC High School has been there longer than most residents have been in Flagler County.
10 years ago Hwy 100 was not all that busy and it was only 2 lane.
Outsider says
The airport was built in 1942’ish. When the hospital was built, it was advised by the local government that it was in the departure path of one of the runways, which they acknowledged and agreed not to complain in the future. You should see what surrounds Chicago Midway airport. It’s smack dab in the middle of a neighborhood.