Osceola Sheriff: Harmony Football Game On After Deputies Dismiss Shooting Threats

Osceola County authorities cleared two reports of a planned shooting at a high school football game scheduled for Friday night, Oct. 23, saying deputies found neither to be genuine.

The Osceola County Sheriff's Office said it received a tip Thursday night stating that a shooting would happen at the game. Text messages carrying the same threat began circulating around Harmony High School on Friday morning. Deputies investigated both the initial tip and the messages and determined neither was authentic. The agency did not identify who started the reports or establish whether that person had any connection to a student injured in an earlier altercation.

Additional deputies were assigned to the high school, along with K-9 units and mounted patrol officers. The St. Cloud Police Department was also scheduled to have officers on site. The security plans were released alongside the sheriff's office statement confirming the game would proceed as scheduled Friday evening.

The false threats followed an Oct. 16 incident near Harmony High School in which several students allegedly attacked a 17-year-old, who was taken to a hospital and received 11 stitches. Investigators linked the assault to an earlier event that day during lunch, saying the teen had confronted a group of students who were throwing carrots at a girl. Nine students, ages 14 to 18, were arrested Oct. 21 on charges of felony aggravated battery and felony inciting a riot.

Authorities said someone had attributed the shooting threats to the teenager injured in the Oct. 16 attack, and investigators later determined that attribution was also false. As of Friday, the source of the threats remained unidentified. Osceola County Sheriff's Office Captain Kim Montes said a person found responsible could face charges: "False reports of a shooting will not be tolerated and if the suspect is identified, that person will be charged."