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Article Courtesy of Boca News
Now
Published June 20, 2018
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Homeowners apparently believed that if they saw something they were supposed to
say something on Facebook, not to the police.
DELRAY BEACH, FL (BocaNewsNow.com) — The Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office and
the builder-controlled HOA at Seven Bridges in west Delray Beach are all asking
the same question — why did no one call the police when rumors started
circulating on the community’s “private” Facebook page Saturday night about kids
bringing a duffel bag full of guns into the community’s posh clubhouse gym?
If true, the duffel bag of guns would seem to be ripped right from the current
season of “Thirteen Reasons Why,” an extremely popular Netflix show about
suicide. And whether Netflix subscribers or not, homeowners in this new, upscale
community would certainly be smart enough to identify a potential threat and
call the police.
But, they’re apparently not. No one called the cops. Instead, several homeowners
opted to post to Facebook about the alleged gun incident, and then decided in a
stunning example of “group think” to let the property manager know on Monday
morning that there may have been kids with a bag of semi-automatic weapons in
the gym over the weekend.
Here is the report BocaNewsNow.com received from PBSO late Monday afternoon. It
is followed by the lengthy email to Seven Bridges homeowners from the property
manager, who, rightfully so, also seems perplexed that this fell to a property
management company and not the police as soon as the rumor started. In other
words: there is great question as to how a group of luxury homeowners in a
community full of kids felt that posting to Facebook was a better solution to
fight crime and possibly stop a massacre than calling the people who are trained
to deal with such a thing.
From PBSO to BocaNewsNow.com at 4:15pm Monday:
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The captain
in charge of this district spoke with the property manager of Seven
Bridges regarding this matter this afternoon. He was advised that
she observed the video surveillance cameras that covered the gym and
surrounding areas and observed no activity that would support these
FB post and concerns. Our deputies responded to investigate further
and identify originating source to gain further intelligence. This
was documented under case # (redacted). The property mgr was advised
to re-contact with PBSO if there was anything else she deemed was
important to add, and to encourage the community members to notify
PBSO directly with this type of information. |
The captain in charge of this district spoke with the property manager of Seven
Bridges regarding this matter this afternoon. He was advised that she observed
the video surveillance cameras that covered the gym and surrounding areas and
observed no activity that would support these FB post and concerns. Our deputies
responded to investigate further and identify originating source to gain further
intelligence. This was documented under case # (redacted). The property mgr was
advised to re-contact with PBSO if there was anything else she deemed was
important to add, and to encourage the community members to notify PBSO directly
with this type of information.
Here is the email sent to Seven Bridges homeowners at 5:02pm:
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Dear
Residents,
It has come to our attention that over the weekend someone posted a
message on the private Seven Bridges Facebook page that stated there
was a teenager in the sports court on Saturday evening in possession
of a firearm. The Property Manager was notified of the Facebook post
late last night. Please understand that neither the HOA or the
Property Manager has any control over or access to this private
Facebook page. Nevertheless, since the matter was reported to us, we
reported the allegations from the Facebook statement to the Palm
Beach County Sheriff’s office first thing this morning (PBSO), and
Deputy George McMann from PBSO visited the Clubhouse this morning in
response to the report. Deputy McMann had an opportunity to speak
with the resident in person who posted the occurrence on the
Facebook page. He also prepared a suspicious activity report and
issued a case number, but has advised that PBSO would not be
conducting any further investigation at this time. Further, in
review of the video from the sports court on Saturday evening, we
did not discover any visual evidence of this activity. If you have
any information or anything to add, please reach out to directly to
Deputy George McMann at (561) 688-3000.
Although we undertook to report this incident to PBSO, please keep
in mind that any suspicious or criminal activity should be
immediately reported directly to the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s
Office. The HOA is not responsible for preventing or investigating
suspicious or criminal behavior. It is imperative for all residents
to be vigilant and to contact the proper authorities when there is
an issue of concern. The HOA is responsible for enforcement of the
HOA’s governing documents. So if you see a crime or think there is a
crime or other suspicious activity going on, whether it relates to
your home or the HOA property, immediately call the police. You can
dial 911 or call the non-emergency line (561) 243-7888 . Also know
that Management does not control or have access to the private Seven
Bridges Facebook page. Regardless, merely posting information on
Facebook is not effective in protecting ourselves, our neighbors or
our children – the police need to be contacted in such event. |
So in a public service message from BocaNewsNow.com: if you see something, say
something… but not on Facebook. Call the police.
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