Fort Lauderdale Woman Accused Of Threatening To 'Blow Up' St. Thomas Aquinas High School
MIAMI(CBSMiami) - A Fort Lauderdale woman was arrested after she reportedly threatened to "blow up" St. Thomas Aquinas High School and a Principal.
After a court appearance, she was held on $50,000 bond and ordered to have no contact with anyone who works at or is a student at the school. A prosecutor asked that she be held on $100,000 bond. A judge in the case said, "These are very serious threats." She found probable cause for the charges against her.
Nancy Kramer, 51, is accused of calling the school several times on August 28th and making the threats.
Several office staff members heard the threats on one of the calls, because it was on speakerphone, and called the police.
School staffers said they were able to identify Kramer as the caller because her name and phone number came up on their caller ID and she always identified herself, giving her full name, on the calls, according to the arrest report.
Kramer was reportedly upset she had paid the $11,000 tuition to the school in full. It's not clear why she was angry.
Kramer is accused of making additional calls threatening calls in the following days in which she also threatened to kill someone.
On August 30th, Fort Lauderdale police sent an officer to the school to see if he could calm the caller down. During a call, which was speakerphone, Kramer identified herself, gave her daughter's name, and the address where they lived. The school staffers told the officer this was the same woman who had made the threats.
Police say when the officer tried to help and reason with her, she became "very upset and irate on the phone."
Kramer was arrested on Wednesday and charged with making a bomb threat.
In response to the arrest, the school issued a statement:
"We want our families to know that at no time was the safety of our students, faculty, staff and campus ever in jeopardy or compromised. As in any situation such as this, the school immediately contacted the local authorities who responded swiftly."
Dr. Denise Aloma, Principal, St. Thomas Aquinas High School
In court we learned that Kramer had been arrested a month ago for battery on a firefighter and was actually out on bond while allegedly making the threats. Her defense attorney said there was evidence that "that was just a slight shoulder slap."
The attorney also argued for a lower bond, saying "My client has ties to the community and two children she cares for who attend that school. I do not believe my client is a threat. She does not own any firearms or explosive devices. She is not a danger to the community and she is not a flight risk."
In bond court, the Judge asked Kramer if she understood that she was to have no contact directly or indirectly with the victims in this case and Kramer responded briefly, "Yes your honor I understand."
At St. Thomas High School, some parents said they did not want to talk about this case but they told CBS4's Peter D'Oench that the school was very safe and had first-rate security for its students.
