Strong police response

It was unclear Tuesday just how many officers swarmed the school after being alerted by one of the student’s parents.

Grossman said she did not know how many officers responded.

But the response was consistent with the way the Hollywood Police Department handles these type of incidents, she said. And it would have been no different had it happened before the Parkland shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High in February 2018, Grossman said.

“Our response to potential active shooter incidents has been in place for many years, prior to [the shooting at] MSD,” she said. “The Hollywood Police Department puts a lot of emphasis on training for these types of incidents.”

Hollywood Police posted updates on Twitter, ultimately announcing that two suspects were detained.

Hollywood Fire Rescue paramedics were called to the school at 1:48 p.m., but there were no injuries, Division Chief Christopher Del Campo said.

A robocall sent by the school district at 1:40 p.m. alerted parents about the school being on code red, but said no phones could be answered until the code was lifted. The message assured parents that all students were safe and Hollywood police were on site.

Junior Sabrina Schanides said she was still in the dark about exactly what happened even after she was off campus and on her way home.

“They announced code red,” she said while waiting for her mom to pick her up at Publix. “We thought it was a drill. We didn’t know what was going on. I still don’t know.”

The whole thing left some kids rattled.

“I was scared in the beginning,” said Sharon Gutierrez, a junior. “The cops came in my classroom checking for IDs.”

Then she saw the photo of the boys with their hands cuffed behind their backs.

“We weren’t scared after we saw that,” she said.

After the lockdown was lifted, the Broward School District sent a robocall around 3:30 p.m. to parents and guardians. The robocall said in part, “This is Mrs. Brown, principal intern, calling to let you know we are no longer under a code red. Students have been dismissed and after-school activities are still on. We are proud of one of our students for seeing something and saying something regarding a gun on campus.”

The message went on to say: “Our school staff and SRO responded immediately to safely resolve the situation and confiscated a BB gun in a backpack. We appreciate the quick response by law enforcement and all of those involved. Safety is our No. 1 priority, and we thank you for your cooperation in keeping South Broward safe. We are … South Broward!”