With backpack having been deemed suspicious, bomb squad called in from neighboring agency
On Tuesday, Nov. 18, officers with the Sarasota Police Department found inactive grenades inside a student’s backpack that had been deemed suspicious at the Sarasota Military Academy High School Campus, the agency reported.
“The grenades were real but had been drilled out at the bottom,” a Police Department news release said. The grenades were removed by law enforcement personnel, the release added.
Just after 11 a.m. that day, officers with the Police Department responded to Sarasota Military Academy after receiving a report that a student had brought a backpack to school that later was determined to be of concern, the release explained.
“For safety reasons, school staff moved the backpack outside onto school property before Sarasota Police officers arrived,” the release noted.
“As a precaution, students and faculty members in the building closest to the backpack were moved to another area of campus,” the release continued. All students and staff remained safe during the incident, the release pointed out.
Officers closed Orange Avenue between Eighth Street and 10th Street while the backpack was examined, the release said. A law enforcement bomb squad from a neighboring agency responded to the scene; its members found the inactive grenades, the release added.
“After a short time,” the release noted, “students and faculty returned to class.”
The Sarasota Military Academy High School Campus stands at 801 N. Orange Ave.