Lockdown lifted at Imagine School after ammunition found on school bus

The North Port Police Department is investigating after ammunition was found on an Imagine School bus, which led to the school’s lockdown.

The campus was placed under lockdown Thursday at 8:15 a.m.

Once the police had concluded their sweep and determined that there was no further danger, parents were notified at 11:15 a.m.

The lower campus resumed normal operations first, but the all-clear was not given until the upper campus, and those students were searched.

NPPD posted on X at 11:10 a.m. that the lockdown was lifted.

Police have not announced whether an arrest was made.

North Port police said two 22-caliber bullets were found on a school bus shared by both elementary students and high schoolers.

Officers interviewed 21 elementary students and at least 60 students from the upper school who rode the bus, but there’s still no clear answer on who did it.

“I got a little scared because I got a message that there was a potential threat, but overall it was OK. Like, I’m just happy everything went smooth, and everything was OK,” said Hunter, a student.

Cassie is one of many parents who rushed to get her son from school.

We asked her how she felt knowing that there was ammunition on the school bus.

“Scary. I wish kids would figure out that that’s not the right thing to do and learn from all of this craziness,” she said.

Josh Taylor, chief of staff with the NPPD, spoke about the discovery.

“At the end of the shift, the bus driver did a walk-through, and he discovered two bullets rolling around in the back of the bus, so it’s obviously very concerning,” Taylor said.

That bus driver alerted a school SRO, who told the principal, and within minutes, both campuses were placed on lockdown.

“We’ll have extra officers here tomorrow for some reassurance. Unfortunately, it’s something that’s happening a lot right now, and we have to take every situation very seriously,” Taylor said.