Deputies respond to false report of gunshots at Eastside High School

Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – This morning, Alachua County Sheriff’s Office Deputies responded to a report of shots fired at Eastside High School and determined that the incident was a hoax; the agency is investigating the source of the false report.

At 11:21 a.m. on January 20, the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office Combined Communications Center received a call from a person who said, “Send help, they are shooting.”

At the time the call was received, two Alachua County School Resource Deputies were on campus, and when they were notified about the call, they said that neither one of them had heard gunshots.

Numerous deputies responded to the school, and after an extensive search, they determined that this incident was a hoax.

It is a 2nd-degree felony for anyone to falsely report the use of a firearm in a violent manner per Florida State Statute 790.163, and Sheriff’s Office Deputies and Detectives are actively investigating this incident.