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In this era, no ‘joke’ in threats

Enough is enough.

It’s time to play hardball with the miscreants who wreak havoc on school districts here and across the country by making threats of shootings or bombings.

Almost every time, the threats turn out to be unfounded and were simply an attempt to disrupt the educational process. But because we live in these times when school shootings are all too familiar, school and law enforcement officials must take them seriously.

When a threat — real or perceived — is made, the people and entities charged with keeping our children safe must operate with an abundance of caution. They have to take precautionary measures and fully investigate each case, often with lockdowns or closings.

Those behind the threats know this. They know that no matter what happens, they’re going to be able to interrupt — perhaps for a few hours or an entire day — normal operations.

What can be done about it?

Let’s start by calling these threats what they are — terrorism. Those who commit these disturbing acts should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

A sheriff in Florida has had enough.

Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood said his deputies responded to 54 threats on Friday alone. What a staggering waste of resources and time.

The sheriff has had enough.

Chitwood announced that beginning this week he planned to better hold students and parents accountable by publicly shaming those who make such threats by posting their photos on the department’s social media sites and giving them a “perp walk” so the school community can see exactly who was responsible. The sheriff said he’d do the same for parents, if it can be proved that they knew what their kids were doing, according to WFTV in Orlando.

Chitwood said he would pursue maximum criminal charges in each case, including threats that were intended as “jokes.” Two middle schoolers in central Florida are now facing felony charges for a threat against their school.

Bravo, Sheriff.

Threats against schools are not a joking matter. It’s time law enforcement and school districts put up a united front in dealing with them, whether it comes in the form of felony charges, expulsions or both.

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