Teen Pranksters Hang Massive Shark Carcass From High School Rafters

Teenage pranksters reportedly hung the carcass of a large shark from the rafters outside Ponte Vedra High School in Jacksonville on Thursday, May 5.

On Thursday, at around 8 a.m., staffers at Ponte Vedra High School reached the campus and discovered the rotting remains of a shark hung using two sets of cables outside the school. The mascot of Ponte Vedra High School is reportedly a shark.

This led the school administrators to believe that the incident was a senior prank. According to officials, a group of students hung the dead fish after gutting it and storing it in a freezer on Wednesday night, New York Post reported.

“A group of five high school students at Ponte Vedra High School hung a gutted shark on the rafters of the school courtyard,” Alex AuBuchon, spokesperson for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, said.

Following the incident, some social media users argued on Twitter saying that the prank was inappropriate.

“This is sick,” one poster wrote, saying that the kids should be disciplined.

“I’m more impressed that they caught the shark than what happened after,” tweeted another account.

Meanwhile, the St. John’s County School District has launched an investigation into the incident.

In a similar but unrelated incident, a 42-year-old father has been arrested for allegedly mercilessly locking his two-month-old baby inside a freezer in a twisted prank on the infant. The incident reportedly happened inside a hotel room in Fukuoka City, Japan between April 15 and 16, 2021, Latin Times reported.

Tatsuji Nishioka, 42, a company employee, has been taken into custody on Jan. 10, on suspicion of child abuse after he allegedly sealed his two-month-old son inside a freezer operating at minus 18° Celsius inside a hotel room in Fukuoka City to perform a prank on the child.

“My son is so cute that I just wanted to play a trick on him and had no intention of abusing him,” Nishioka reportedly told the officers.

The incident came to light after a doctor diagnosed the infant with a fractured left thigh and rib in August 2021. Following the discovery, the doctor contacted a child welfare consultation center regarding the possible abuse. The child protection agency subsequently reported the incident to the police.

Following this, the authorities searched Nishioka’s home and discovered photos and video footage of the father locking his infant son inside a freezer. They also found a video of the infant left lying face down on a table at home.