INTERLACHEN, Fla. — On April 17, Steven Musgrove, 34, of Interlachen, scaled a perimeter fence at Interlachen Junior-Senior High School armed with a billy club during a school lockdown, according to the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office.
The incident prompted a second lockdown at the school, which was already secured due to an earlier threat, and Musgrove left the scene before law enforcement could confront him.
The initial school lockdown was initiated due to a threat reported through FortifyFL. As deputies were clearing the school and the room where the original threat was believed to have originated, Musgrove, who was shirtless and carrying the billy club, was captured on security cameras. He was seen behind a pillar near the school library.
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Musgrove later paced an exterior hallway before climbing over another fence to exit the property and then entered a vehicle to leave the scene before deputies or school guardians could intervene.
Sheriff H.D. ‘Gator’ DeLoach, of the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office, said Musgrove was fortunate the school was already under lockdown when he illegally entered the property. “Mr. Musgrove is extremely fortunate that the school was already on a lockdown when he illegally scaled a perimeter fence in order to gain entry,” DeLoach said. “We are not an agency or a school district that is going to wait for the cavalry. If he had remained on campus, he would have been met with deadly force.”
“The safety of our schools warrants that kind of response, and we will protect the lives we are entrusted with, even if it means taking another,” DeLoach stated. “He is lucky he is only facing charges, and no one is having to plan a funeral due to his stupidity.”
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The Putnam County Sheriff’s Office reminded parents and family members that no one is permitted to enter or leave a campus during a school lockdown. This policy is in place for the safety of the school community, noting that being between deputies and a real threat is extremely dangerous.
“Parents who attempt to take vigilante justice not only impede our ability to stop a threat, they can be considered a threat themselves, especially when armed,” Sheriff DeLoach said.
Musgrove was arrested and faces charges including interfering with school administration functions, trespassing a structure or conveyance while armed, possession of a weapon on school property and violation of drug offender probation. He is currently being held without bond.
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