Update: Out-of-State Suspect Identified in Land O' Lakes High School Threat

Update Nov. 5, 9:25 p.m.: The teen in the photo has been identified by Pasco County Sheriff’s detectives.

“He is out of state and we have been working with law enforcement in that state and have determined he is not in possession of weapons nor does he have the means to travel to Pasco County,” wrote Melanie Snow, sheriff’s office spokeswoman, in an email to media.

The investigation is ongoing. The sheriff’s office will have additional personnel at Land O’ Lakes High on Thursday.

Earlier:

When a photograph of a mask-wearing, Airsoft-gun toting teen was emailed to a secretary at Land O’ Lakes High School, warning bells went off.

The email threatened “Land O’ Lakes High School” and promised violence on “Friday.”

That picture had been screen captured from social media and was sent to the school, explained Pasco County School District spokeswoman Linda Cobbe.

District officials and the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office began working to ferret out the voracity of the threat.

While Cobbe said the person in the shot has possibly been identified, the teen, who does not attend Land O’ Lakes High, has yet to be brought in for questioning. That means it’s still unclear if the boy the sheriff’s office is looking for and the one in the photo are the same. It’s also unclear if the threat was meant for this Friday, or if the photo had been posted online quite some time ago, Cobbe said. To complicate matters, Cobbe noted that Pasco’s Land O’ Lakes High isn’t the only one in existence.

Although plenty of questions remain, Cobbe said the district sent out a recorded message to parents Wednesday afternoon explaining the situation. She also said students can expect controlled access to the school on Thursday and possibly Friday if the teen hasn’t been located for questioning.

The district, Cobbe said, is taking the potential of a threat quite seriously despite the mystery that still surrounds the email.

“(We’ll have) controlled access tomorrow and Friday … as long as it’s necessary,” she said, adding that additional law enforcement will also be on campus.

If the teen the district has identified is the one in the photo, the additional security measures may not be necessary, she added.

Stay with Patch for updates as they become available.

Photo Credit: Pasco County Sheriff’s Office Facebook