2 Teens Arrested in Winter Haven High School Shooting Hoax
Mathew Taylor Sowell, right, who once attended the school but now goes to a program for dropouts, sent the message Friday afternoon using a radio that disappeared from the campus in the past week, police said. Then he threw the device into a lake. Keegan Hamlett, left, was with Sowell when he made the call, police said.
Published: Saturday, May 19, 2012 at 10:10 p.m.
Last Modified: Saturday, May 19, 2012 at 10:10 p.m.
WINTER HAVEN | The voice crackled over a two-way radio at Winter Haven High School: Someone's been shot. Call an ambulance.
It was a hoax, and on Saturday police announced they had made two arrests in the case, which led to an intense room-by-room search of the campus buildings and drew a small army of law enforcement.
Mathew Taylor Sowell, 17, who once attended the school but now goes to a program for dropouts, sent the message Friday afternoon using a radio that disappeared from the campus in the past week, police said. Then he threw the device into a lake.
Keegan Hamlett, 16, was with Sowell when he made the call, police said.
The boys were arrested Friday night on charges that include tampering with evidence, a felony, criminal mischief and disruption of a school function, police said.
The static-filled message about the shooting went out about 3 p.m. Friday. Workers thought the voice belonged to a faculty member and called 911. The school, still buzzing with students after classes, was locked down for more than two hours while officers searched.
After determining the school was safe, detectives received a tip that pointed to Sowell as the culprit, police said, and officers went to the home at 120 Lincoln Road in Winter Haven where Sowell and Hamlett live.
Sowell returned there about 7 p.m., breaking a curfew required by his probation on unrelated charges, police said. He was arrested on a probation violation charge and taken to Winter Haven police headquarters.
During an interview, he confessed to sending the radio message, police said. Hamlett was found at the Spring Lake Square shopping center in Winter Haven and arrested.
Officers searched several bodies of water Saturday where they think the stolen school radio may have been dumped.
Police are investigating whether more are involved in the hoax and may make more arrests, said Jamie Brown, the Winter Haven police spokeswoman.
The hoax brought an enormous response by law enforcement. As many as 40 police vehicles arrived on campus when the call went out. A helicopter hovered over the campus during the search. Police dogs and firefighters stood at the ready.
Had the emergency been real, Brown said, all the resources would have been necessary.
The hoax also exacted an emotional toll. As police searched, panicked parents arrived on campus, worried for their children, Brown said. Reports of the incident conjured images of recent campus shootings that were all too real.
"We're going to do everything in our power to bring this to justice," Brown said.
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