False Shooting Threats Add 20 Deputies to St. Cloud Football Game

A dispute over a lunchtime altercation in St. Cloud, Florida, escalated into a series of false shooting threats ahead of a Friday night football game between Harmony High School and St. Cloud High School. The Osceola County Sheriff's Office (OCSO) confirmed the game would proceed on Oct. 23 with an expanded security presence after deputies determined the threats were not genuine.

The sheriff's office first received a tip on Thursday night alleging a shooting would occur at the event. By Friday morning, text messages containing the same claim began circulating among students. Officials investigated both the initial report and the digital messages, concluding that neither threat was real. The agency stated that the person behind the false reports attributed them to a teenager injured in an earlier attack, but investigators found that connection to be false as well.

Security arrangements for the game included additional OCSO deputies, K-9 units, and mounted patrol officers. Officers from the St. Cloud Police Department were also assigned to the venue. These measures were announced alongside the confirmation that the game would go ahead as scheduled for Friday evening.

The threats emerged following the arrest of nine students in connection with an assault that took place on Oct. 16 near Harmony High School. During that incident, a group of students allegedly beat a 17-year-old, who was transported to a hospital and received 11 stitches. Authorities linked the physical attack to a confrontation during lunch earlier that day, where the injured student had intervened after seeing a group of students throw carrots at a girl.

The nine students, aged between 14 and 18, were arrested on Oct. 21. They faced charges of felony aggravated battery and felony inciting a riot. As of Friday, OCSO had not identified the individual who originated the false shooting threats or established any relationship between that person and the injured student.

Captain Kim Montes of the sheriff's office warned that the false reports could result in criminal prosecution. "False reports of a shooting will not be tolerated and if the suspect is identified, that person will be charged," Montes said. The source of the threats remained unknown as the game approached.