TAMPA, Fla. — One month into the school year, districts across the Bay Area — and the state — say they are dealing with a massive uptick in school threats.

Manatee County Sheriff's Office says schools in Manatee County have received 250 threats. And Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd announced that 24 students have been arrested in the first 28 days of school.

Judd said he doesn't think the kids realize the widespread impact threats can have.  

“It’s one of these things like ‘seller beware’ — you sell us a threat, you’re not only going to get felony charges, but mom and dad are going to get hefty bills, and it’s in the thousands of dollars,” he said.

Earlier this week, three Manatee County students were charged with felonies after being accused of making violent threats. Four students total have been arrested in Manatee County so far this school year after being accused of making threats.

Manatee County Sheriff's Office public information officer Randy Warren said most of the threats come from social media.

“They don't think they're going to get caught, and they just assume that they're going to get away with it," he said. "And they enjoy some kind of, you know, joke. It's a game. It's not a game. As we know, these are serious threats. A written threat to kill is a second-degree felony."

As more parents see these threats through the Fortify app and online, some say they have concerns about sending their kids to school.

“There could actually, at some point, be a kid that brings a weapon to school,” said parent Danika von Muegge.

She said she gets an uneasy feeling each time there’s a threat at one of the schools in Manatee County. She has one daughter in 11th grade who attends Parrish Community High School.

“I tend to have my alert up a little higher — maybe more than average — just because I know the threat is very real,” she said.

In 2010, von Muegge said her family experienced an active shooter incident at her son’s school in Colorado.

“He came to the school, parked in the parking lot, took out his shotgun, and kind of hid behind the school sign," she said. "He just started shooting kids at the end of the school day. My son literally walked right past the shooter. We were walking distance from the school, so he walked home every day. He did not get shot, thankfully."

She said there have been threats in the district since moving to Parrish in 2021.

“So I think it's excellent that they are showing the kids on the news," von Muegge saud, "I think it's awesome that they are putting their names out there. Nobody wants that to be their kid. But you certainly don't want kids to actually come to school and cause harm to other kids."

But she says she feels safe sending her daughter to school.

“Generally, I feel pretty safe," she said. "Parrish just put some metal detectors in the school. They've got increased security there, and they make it very difficult to get into the school."

But she does have concerns.

“My concern with my daughter is just that she's going to be caught in the middle of something — that she's going to have to make a decision," she said. "You know, at school, she's not really allowed to have her phone. If there was ever an emergency, she wouldn't really be able to reach me."

County officials say they will provide additional security at all schools when threats come in. But for now, the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office wants parents to explain to their kids how serious it is to have a felony on their record.