Florida Woman's Fiery Protest: Threatens Firearms Over Sarasota's Unyielding Basketball Hoop Decision

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SARASOTA, Fla. (WFLA) — Exclusive documents obtained by 8 On Your Side have shed light on threats directed at children playing in Mary Dean Park, Sarasota.

These documents included a series of text messages exchanged between a local resident and a friend. The concerning messages were subsequently forwarded to city officials, prompting them to temporarily remove the park’s basketball hoop as a precautionary measure. Following a wave of public concern and backlash, the hoop was reinstalled last Thursday.

Meanwhile, Sarasota police have confirmed they are actively investigating the nature of these threats.

For several days, the individual involved in the text exchanges, whose identity is being withheld by 8 On Your Side, hinted at potential violence in her messages.

One message said, “Someone or many are probably gonna die. And I’m not being dramatic. I can’t control this.”

Another message said, “This is ruining our lives, our health…”

On October 16, she texted a friend, ”Once you’ve been terrorized for years with noise torture… It’s hard to value anyone’s life because obviously no one values ours… If the city and parks want to ignore pleas for help of 5 years they can live with the consequences. I’m getting a gun and a gun license and if anyone comes on our property to ‘fetch a basketball’ then they can expect me to protect myself against trespassing.”

Attorney Bryant Camareno explained whether this was a threat.

“Legally, I don’t think it is. I don’t think it’s a good practice for her to be sending that message because it’s conditional. What she’s saying is if this happens again, I’m going to get a gun, OK? And if it happens again, I may have to use the gun. So I think that that’s it’s too conditional, in my opinion, to be a direct threat, to be a crime,” Camareno said.

The attorney said though the comments were troubling, the woman didn’t directly say them to anyone or post it online.

The woman described noises from the hoop not being “conducive to relaxing.” She went on to say, “We’re getting guns and anyone who trespasses might have consequences from their inability to remove an 8 foot hoop and put it in a bigger park a few blocks away.”

Her messages claim kids have trespassed, damaged her property, and have harassed her for 11 years. She also alleges the kids shot and killed her cats. 8 On Your Side reached out to her for comment but have not heard a response.

Sarasota police said the investigation is ongoing.

“I think I would say this was a warning shot to her,” Camareno said. “The woman who sent that message, be careful what you say because they’re going to keep up with you. So I don’t know if there’s any further proactive investigation they could do, but I think they’re going to monitor this and see what happens after that.”