TAYLOR COUNTY, Fla. — A bomb threat from an out-of-state inmate prompted early dismissal for all Taylor County schools after he demanded $1 million be sent to an out of county bank account or bombs would explode in all nine county schools.
On Monday, the Taylor County Sheriff's Office received a report of a bomb threat to their local schools, in the form of a letter.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement was notified, along with local, state and federal agencies.
After a declared and controlled early dismissal of all students, TCSO School Resource Deputies, with the assistance of the Perry Police Department and Florida Highway Patrol, conducted a search and cleared all nine schools in the county.
A letter from an inmate, currently incarcerated at an out-of-state correctional facility, was received at the Taylor County Courthouse. The letter was not dated, but was postmarked Oct. 31, 2019.
TCSO says the handwritten letter demanded local authorities send $1 million to an out of county bank account or advised that bombs would explode in all Taylor County schools.
TCSO Investigators then contacted FDLE. It was confirmed the inmate was incarcerated and has no ties to Taylor County.
With the help of Perry PD and the Florida Highway Patrol, all schools were cleared and no suspicious packages or items found.
Based on the information received, no credible threat was determined at this time.
A multi-jurisdictional investigation of this threat is currently being conducted.
Taylor County High School says all schools in the district are dismissing students early on Monday due to a written threat made towards the district.
The school says they are taking "every precaution to ensure the safety of our students and staff," and says law enforcement is investigating the credibility of the threat.
TCHS says dismissals began at 1:15 p.m. and that all after school activities have been cancelled.
The school says, at this time, school will resume on Tuesday.
