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Authorities have charged 39-year-old Matthew Piner with threatening to use violence against anyone who might prevent him from seeing his child, a student at a school in Jacksonville.
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Following a parent’s alarming comments that led to heightened security at four Duval County schools, a suspect has been apprehended.
On Wednesday, December 17, law enforcement officers in Texas took Piner into custody.
Earlier in the week, on Monday, December 15, the school district alerted families of students at J. Allen Axson Elementary, Chets Creek Elementary, Kernan Middle, and Kernan Trail Elementary about a precautionary lockout enacted due to police activity in the vicinity.
This lockout extended into Tuesday, enforcing a strict no-entry or exit policy during school hours to ensure everyone’s safety.
The measures were later revealed to be a direct response to a threat made by Piner on social media. The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office said Piner made a post, saying, “Anyone possessing or keeping [his child] from me is to be shot on sight…”
Piner’s child, whom he does not have custody of, is a student in the school district.
JSO said its investigation showed that Piner was driving to Jacksonville from California with a gun on Monday, leading them to order the lockout.
“We worked closely with Duval County School Police and FBI Jacksonville on this case. Together, we stopped what could have been a tragedy,” JSO wrote on social media.
He was jailed by the Nolan County Sheriff’s Office in Texas on JSO charges for making written threats of physical harm and violating an injunction against domestic violence.
