Screenshot via Youtube/WPLG Local 10
Audio By Carbonatix
After reports of a firearm on campus at Christopher Columbus High School, a Catholic college preparatory academy at 3000 SW 87 Ave., the school was placed on lockdown, which has since been lifted.
“There is no shooting,” Luis Sierra, special response team commander for the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office (MDSO), confirmed to New Times in a phone call Wednesday morning. Units arrived on campus minutes after receiving a call about a possible shooter at 10:37 a.m., he continued. They performed a sweep of the premises.
The school has now given students and parents the all clear. “Campus is safe and lockdown has been lifted,” a Facebook story from the school reads.
“Seniors will be released at 12:10 p.m. Underclassmen may be picked up beginning at 12:20 p.m.,” the post continues.
Screenshot via Christopher Columbus High School Facebook
Nearby St. Brendan Elementary and High School, and Banyan Elementary were also placed on lockdown during the incident, according to NBC 6 South Florida.
Popular Instagram account @onlyindade posted a video portraying the scene at around 11 a.m. Wednesday morning, showing what appear to be students running inside buildings while armed police officers swarm St. Brendan High School.
“This is right outside St. Brendan’s, bro,” someone recording the video narrates. “There’s been like 50 cops, bro.”
The @onlyindade video appears to be a compilation of various footage submitted to the account. One portion illustrates what appears to be a view from a balcony or upper window at one of the schools, while others show vehicles driving past the schools, with police cars, sirens, and deputies apparent.
People immediately took to the comments, rallying for the best outcome.
“Hope everyone is okay,” one comment reads.
“I pray this is a false alarm,” someone else wrote on the post.
Christopher Columbus High School is home to several nationally recognized alumni, including recent Heisman Trophy winner and former Indiana University quarterback Fernando Mendoza, current University of Miami football coach Mario Cristobal, and several professional athletes from the NFL and MLB.
A page on the Christopher Columbus High School site labeled “Emergency Procedures” does not document the school’s response to a potential shooter, but instead outlines precautions to guard against “child abuse, abandonment, or neglect.”
This is a breaking story and will be updated as events warrant.
