Executive Summary
- Single bullet found in a bathroom at Space Coast Jr./Sr. High.
- Brevard County Sheriff’s Office deputies conducted an on-site investigation.
- Shelter-in-place order issued; students remained safe and classes continued.
Administrators at Space Coast Jr./Sr. High in Port St. John, Florida, issued a shelter-in-place order on Friday, December 12, following the discovery of a single bullet within a school bathroom. According to reports from Brevard Public Schools and the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office (BCSO), the measure was implemented immediately to allow law enforcement to secure the area and investigate the source of the ammunition.
The contraband was located during the morning hours, triggering established safety protocols. Officials from the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office confirmed that deputies were deployed to the scene to conduct a thorough search of the premises. As of 11:30 a.m., the shelter-in-place order remained in effect while the investigation proceeded.
Janet Murnaghan, the chief strategic communications officer for Brevard Public Schools, stated that all students remained safe throughout the event. Murnaghan emphasized that normal classroom instruction continued without interruption during the shelter-in-place, which restricts movement in hallways but allows educational activities to proceed within secured classrooms.
Investigative Outlook
The presence of loose ammunition on school grounds initiates a specific tier of law enforcement response focused on threat assessment and containment. By utilizing a shelter-in-place order rather than a hard lockdown, authorities indicated a need to control the environment for a search rather than a reaction to an immediate active threat. The ongoing investigation by the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office will likely focus on tracing the origin of the ammunition to determine if it was an accidental oversight or a deliberate act. At this stage, law enforcement has not reported any arrests or identified specific suspects.
