Dead shark hanging from Florida high school rafters spurs investigation

By Mark Price, The Charlotte Observer

The discovery of a large dead shark hanging from the rafters at a high school is being investigated by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

It happened Thursday at Ponte Vedra High School in St. Johns County, and investigators are working to determine the species. The school is in Ponte Vedra Beach, south of Jacksonville.

Ponte Vedra High’s mascot is a shark, suggesting the incident was a student prank.

“At approximately 9 p.m. … (5/4/22) a group of five high school students at Ponte Vedra High School hung a gutted shark on the rafters of the school courtyard,” according to Alex AuBuchon, public information director for the wildlife commission’s Northeast Region.

“We have learned the shark was harvested Tuesday night (5/3), gutted, and stored in a freezer prior to being hung.”

Two sets of cables were used to hang the shark over a staircase on the outside of the building.

The shark was discovered around 8 a.m. Thursday by school staff and cut down, station WJXT reported.

School officials disposed of the carcass before the commission was notified, AuBuchon said.

Photos of the shark have been sent to Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation marine fisheries biologists to identify the species. More than two dozen species of sharks cannot be legally harvested in Florida, the state reports.

Surveillance cameras at the school recorded students in the act of hanging the shark, and the video has been sent to the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office, WJXT said.

The incident has prompted outrage on social media, with some accusing the participants of “wanton waste” while others say it counts as animal cruelty.

“A prank shouldn’t involve something being killed!” one commenter wrote on Facebook.

May 19 is the final day for seniors at the school, and graduation is May 28. The school has 1,914 students, according to U.S. News & World Report.

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