WESLEY CHAPEL, Fla. — Three Pasco County schools were placed on alert status Tuesday because of nearby law enforcement activity, prompting concern from parents in Wesley Chapel.
The schools placed on alert were Wiregrass Elementary, Wiregrass Ranch High School and Dr. John Long Middle School. After the recent deadly shooting at an elementary school in Oregon, one parent reached out to Tampa Bay 28 Annette Gutierrez wanting to learn more about what happened.
Gutierrez emailed the Pasco Sheriff's Office and learned that deputies were searching for someone who ran away from the North Tampa Behavioral Health facility. The email said the individual was unarmed and not considered dangerous, and that they did not go near the school. The individual was quickly located and returned to the facility.
Hugo Campodonico, a grandparent of a student at Wiregrass Elementary, said he the received the alert on his phone.
"We received an email yesterday letting us know that the school was in lockdown, that it was safe. It was not a dangerous lockdown, but they were in the lockdown," Campodonico said.
Pasco County Schools clarified the campuses were placed on alert — not a controlled campus lockdown. The district says an alert is a precautionary measure to keep staff and students vigilant.
In an email sent to families on Tuesday, Wiregrass Elementary cited a "non-school-related event in the surrounding community," leaving some parents worried.
"We are scared about the news every, everywhere. Yes, I mean shootings everywhere. This is terrible," Campodonico said.
Cindy McCrary has two kids at that school. While she is thankful for the email notification from the school, she says she never got an update about what the situation was.
"It's always worrisome, always — especially with what's happened in our country. But you can't control everything and you're trusting your schools to do the right thing, which they did. They put them on lockdown based on the information that they received," McCrary said.
McCrary, who has a child with autism, says she understands why schools took precautions. But she wants more information shared with families after an incident is resolved.
"As a citizen and parent, our question is, why can't we put that out once it's complete? Of course, we're not looking for personal information on who, what, when, where, why," McCrary said. "We all respect privacy, but hearing that [update], of course is going to bring some closure to the situation."
This is why she said she reached out to Gutierrez.
"That's why I'm contacting you. So by all means, we're grateful that you're here doing these reports and doing so, but why are we not sharing it with our citizens?" McCrary said.
The school district says it works closely with the sheriff's office when there is law enforcement activity near schools. It says it wants to balance transparency with sharing accurate, verified information — without creating unnecessary concern when there is no direct threat to a campus.
But Campodonico said his direct communication with the school helped ease his concerns.
"I received the email but I said, no, no, no, let me call and I want to hear it [from them]. So, they gave me information, and it was good [enough for me]," Campodonico said.
The sheriff's office says there was never a public safety threat and all of the schools dismissed normally.
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