A 13-year-old male student who was suspended from Millennium Middle School was detained for his role in placing a hoax device on campus that prompted the evacuation of two Tamarac schools Monday, authorities said.
The student was taken in for questioning from his Lauderhill home, Broward Sheriff's Office spokesman Mike Jachles said in a statement.
Charges are expected, and the student and his parents are cooperating with the investigation, Jachles said. The student was initially identified as 17 years old.
The BSO Bomb Squad and Homeland Security agents responded to the scene. The device was mitigated, and the all-clear was given at the school at 5803 NW 94th Ave., Jachles said.
Students who saw the 13-year-old put the hoax device in the courtyard came forward to faculty after the school was locked down for an unrelated strongarm robbery in the area, according to Jachles.
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The 13-year-old told classmates that he put bombs on the campus, Jachles said.
At about 3:45 p.m. the school resource officer reported that a suspicious device that looked like an explosive device had been found at the school, Jachles said.
"This device had the characteristics of being a potentially explosive device,” Jachles said.
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Officials located it in between two buildings outside, according to authorities.
About 1,500 students from Millennium Middle School were immediately evacuated, and about 250 students from Challenger Elementary School next door were also evacuated as a precaution, Jachles said.
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A neighboring industrial warehouse was also being evacuated, the BSO said. There were no injuries from the incident, the agency said.
There was confusion as students were ushered to a nearby water park, at the Caporella Aquatic Center at 9300 NW 58th St. Some parents said they called their kids but knew little about what was happening.
"We have no idea what's going on," Camilla Herschle said.
Some parents picked up their children from the aquatic center. Bus and transportation services for Millennium students are also running as closely to the normal schedule as possible, the Broward County Public Schools said.
Kimberly Login-Bonadonna was reunited with her son – after a stressful period.
"He called me, telling me that they’re being evacuated," she said, pointing at her son, John Bonadonna. "And I was a nervous wreck and I got here as fast as I could."
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