Guns, Online Threats Rampant At 14 Schools Across Texas

While the nation mourns the loss of 17 students and staff killed during a shooting spree Wednesday at a South Florida high school, schools around America are on high alert. And Texas seems to lead the way.

On Thursday, possible copycat scenarios were thwarted all across the Lone Star State as arrests, detainments and squelching of rumors took place at 14 different schools and false alarms at others. Students were arrested at various Dallas-Fort Worth area schools, a few in the Greater Houston area and another in Navasota where a junior high student had a pellet gun.

Late Friday in the Houston suburb of Fort Bend County, there were two incidents at two different schools that prompted even more arrests.

Meanwhile, rumors of threats in Bryan had parents in panic mode, but they were later proven to be false alarms.

In the Houston area of Humble, students didn't go to school Friday at Kingwood Park after rumors of a 'hit list' surfaced and chatter of boys wanting to "shoot up the school" surfaced.

The following high schools around the state had arrests Thursday:

DFW - Flower Mound Marcus High School

After students contacted on-campus police about a student carrying a gun, officers responded by taking the 16-year-old student out of the classroom and searching their backpack. Police found a small caliber handgun that was not loaded. However, the student was also carrying ammunition.

DFW - Plano West Senior High School

Through an anonymous tip to the Campus Crime Stoppers, police took an unidentified student into police custody after a school resource officer found he or she had a handgun. The gun wasn't loaded and the student wasn't carrying ammunition.

DFW - South Garland High School

After a reported stolen cell phone, Kerry Guery, 19, was caught with the phone, an unloaded handgun and marijuana in his backpack, Garland police said in a statement. Police said Guery was arrested for Unlawful Carrying of a Weapon — Prohibited Places, Possession of Marijuana in a Drug Free Zone, and two theft warrants out of Dallas County. He remains in Garland Jail.

DFW - Arlington's Nichols Junior High School

Police say the student told other students he had a gun with him. A local TV station reported the student made a specific threat about using an AK-47 assault rifle to go after people. The student was arrested and charged with making a terroristic threat, KDFW wrote. He did not bring a gun to campus.

DFW - Weatherford High School

In this town an hour west of Fort Worth, a student was arrested for making threats against the school on social media. Several students reported the threat to school officials, the station wrote. No weapons were found.

DFW - Nevada's Community High School

The high school's Facebook page stated that a student was detained after making a threat of violence against the school. An investigation is ongoing, and appropriate legal and disciplinary action is to come.

DFW - Kaufman High School

This town just southeast of the Metroplex has seen an increased security presence because of threats made on social media. It's not clear if any arrests were made at Kaufman ISD. Messages left with staff members at Kaufman ISD were not immediately returned.

Houston - Fort Bend ISD

Fort Bend County Sheriff Troy Nehls said a 14-year old student at Billy Baines Middle School in Misouri City sent out a Snapchat message threatening to shoot up the school, while a 15-year old student at the Harmony School in Katy showed a picture of students fleeing from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida, and threatened that the same would happen there at the Hamony School campus in Katy.

Houston - Humble Kingwood Park High School

After a student claimed he knew someone who'd seen a hit list, and coupled with rumors of some male students threatening to "shoot up the school," parents of students at Kingwood Park decided not to send their kids to school Friday. Police later dismissed the alleged hit list as nothing more than rumors that spread quickly through social media.

Houston - Houston Can! Academy

A student who enrolled just two weeks ago tried to sneak a handgun into school in the hood of his sweatshirt. However, the school screens all students entering the building. Once the security guard confiscated the gun, the student ran away. He was later caught and detained. Houston PD said it will go forward with charges.

Brazos Valley - Navasota Junior High School

Campus administrators and school resource officers removed a pellet gun from a student. They were alerted when a classmate told administrators about the gun, according to a note sent home to parents. "We would like to remind our students that weapons of any kind, even toy guns, are not allowed on school grounds and bringing one to school can result in serious consequences," the statement said.

West Texas - Fort Stockton High School

The Fort Stockton Pioneer is reporting that Fort Stockton ISD administration received a report that a student at Fort Stockton High School made a statement about a possible shooting at the school. After a district investigation, law enforcement was contacted. Police took in the student "at approximately 10:30 p.m. on Thursday for making terroristic threats."

There were no incidents in any of the seven schools, nor at any of the Bryan ISD schools. There was also a false alarm at Madisonville High School after police investigated a threat there.

Clear Creek ISD Superintendent Greg Smith sent a letter to parents on Thursday, assuring them that their children's safety is the district's top priority. Here's the letter and some of the measures it covers.

Plano Police Department will hold an active shooter preparedness seminar on March 6 at the Plano Event Center. The two hour class will teach members of the public how to use "Avoid, Deny, Defend" and "Run, Hide, Fight" strategies. Participants will also receive instruction on how to control life threatening bleeding.

All this happened one day after a shooter entered Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, and began a shooting rampage, killing 17 people and injuring many others.

(AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)