BROOKSVILLE — Hernando Sheriff Al Nienhuis announced the arrest Friday of a 17-year-old who he said was responsible for six bomb threats made this week at Central High School.
Central High student Mizella M. Robinson faces multiple charges, Nienhuis said.
"This was a single individual using a single device" to make the calls, the sheriff said. Robinson admitted to making the threats, Nienhuis said, and used a technological diversion technique that made it difficult for law enforcement to immediately identify her. Nienhuis would not elaborate.
Deputies were at the school repeatedly Monday through Thursday to investigate the threats, but found nothing, the sheriff said.
At a news conference Friday afternoon, he filled the room with deputies and representatives of other agencies that helped with the investigation, including the Florida Highway Patrol, Hernando County Fire Rescue and the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
Despite the threats, Nienhuis said, "it was a 100 percent hoax."
"We didn't find anything at all that was a fake bomb, let alone a real bomb," he said.
Robinson was arrested on six counts of false reporting of a bomb, six counts of unlawful use of a communications device, five counts of misuse of the 911 system and six counts of disruption of a school function.
Nienhuis and Hernando County School District superintendent Lori Romano said the student will face serious consequences for her actions. Although Robinson is a juvenile, Nienhuis said law enforcement will speak to the state attorney about charging her as an adult.
The incidents caused major disruption at the school, Romano said. On Friday, only 150 of Central High's 1,300 students attended school, said district spokeswoman Karen Jordan.