Broward County Schools

Broward County Schools, (AFP) – Police in Broward County, Florida ordered all area schools locked down following a threat that someone was planning to go to a school and start shooting.

Students are being kept in all the county schools and police in the city of Pembroke Pines are investigating the case, said an agent with the Broward County Sheriff’s Department.

The county is located just north of Miami.

“There has been a threat, so for the safety of all our students and staff, all schools at the Broward County school district are on lockdown until further notice,” ran a phone message at Pembroke Pines police station, which is handling the case.

“As this information is updated we will post the information,” the message added.

Pembroke Pines city police did not respond to AFP phone calls.

Police in the morning received what they described as a “credible threat” against the county schools, followed by an e-mail message indicated that “something was going to happen” around Broward County government buildings, the Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel newspaper reported.

Schools Superintendent James Notter told the newspaper that the 230,000 public school students and faculty and employees were placed in lockdown and were safe.

Missle Over California

Missle Over California, (AP) — The Pentagon Tuesday said it was trying to determine if a missile was launched Monday off the coast of Southern California and who might have launched it.

Spokesmen for the Navy, Air Force, Defense Department and North American Aerospace Defense Command said they were looking into a video posted on the CBS News website that appears to show a rocket or some other object shooting up into the sky and leaving a large contrail over the Pacific Ocean.

The video was shot by a KCBS helicopter, the station said Tuesday.

“Nobody within the Department of Defense that we’ve reached out to has been able to explain what this contrail is, where it came from,” Lapan said. “So far, we’ve come up empty with any explanation.”

Lapan said officials are talking to the Air Force, Navy and NORAD as well as civilian authorities who control and monitor air space.

“Right now, all indications are that there was not (Department of Defense) involvement in this,” Lapan said, adding that some object might have been launched by a private company.

Officials had no information to make them suspect that the action was taken by any U.S. adversary.

“At this point, until we know more information about what it may have been, there is not alarm,” Lapan said. “But that could change depending on what we find out.”