Prayers going out to High School in Florida

Prayers are going out today from the School District of Oconee County (SDOC) to Broward County, Florida where a former student is accused of killing 17 people at a school on Wednesday afternoon. Oconee County Schools Superintendent Dr. Michael Thorsland encourages the community to be vigilant against threats made to schools. “Well, it certainly was tragic. Words can’t even described how horrible that must feel for a community and our thoughts and prayers certainly go out to the community around Douglas High School. Here in Oconee County, we have an incredibly responsive law enforcement team and they help us try to make our schools as safe as possible. I feel like overall we do have very safe schools but it is imperative for students and parents alike to report anything they see on social media or any other behaviors students might exhibit that could indicate that they are depressed or might have access to weapons to perpetrate violence. So, a community just has to be vigilant but again I do think overall that our schools are safe and I’m thankful that we have a very helpful law enforcement community around us.” Thursday morning, 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz was arrested on 17 counts of premeditated murder. He posted disturbing material on social media before the shooting spree, according to a law enforcement official and former classmates.