NASSAU COUNTY, Fla. — Action News Jax is learning more about the man who police say threatened to blow up Fernandina Beach Middle School on Friday and brought weapons on campus.
Ralph Suarez is charged with:
- Exhibiting a weapon on school property
- Armed trespass on school property
- False report of bomb threats
- Resisting arrest
>>> STREAM ACTION NEWS JAX LIVE <<<
According to Fernandina Beach Police, the school resource officer got a call about a suspicious car on campus around 8:25 a.m. Friday.
Fernandina Beach Police Chief Jeffrey Tambasco said that when the officer approached the car, they found Suarez sitting on the ground with a blanket next to him that had several knives and a compound bow with arrows all laid out.
RELATED: Man found with weapons on Fernandina Beach Middle School campus arrested, police say
When the officer tried to arrest Suarez, things got physical, and Tambasco said that’s when Suarez threatened to blow up the school.
The Nassau County School District told us Fernandina Middle was placed on a brief lockdown because of the incident with Suarez.
“It’s absolutely horrifying,” Leona Byrne, who lives near the middle school, said.
[SIGN UP: Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter]
Byrne was driving by the middle school just as the police were showing up. She said she’s grateful no one was hurt.
“Fernandina Beach Police, they’re the best,” Byrne said. “They get out here quick.”
This isn’t the first time Suarez has been arrested.
[DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks]
Suarez was arrested this past July for trespassing in Nassau County, but court records show there was a “suggestion of mental incompetence.”
Chief Tambasco tells Action News Jax that Suarez had been held for mental health observation under the Baker Act previously in Nassau County.
Suarez is currently being held in the Nassau County Jail.
Click here to download the free Action News Jax news and weather apps, click here to download the Action News Jax Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Action News Jax live.
