Pinellas Park High School, located in Largo, Florida, opened its doors in August 1976.

Because of the United States Bicentennial occurring that year, it adopted the name "The Patriots" and chose red, white, and blue as its school colors.

Five SLCs comprising the entire school population exist today: Freshman Forum (for incoming freshmen); Arts & Humanities; Environmental, Medical and Biological Alliance; Sophomore Seminar, and Business Design Technologies.

The senior classes have a chance to take a college EMR class and participate in Pinellas Park High's "Disaster Day," where the underclassmen act as if a natural disaster has occurred and depend on the seniors to assist, take control of, and isolate the situation.

This situation escalated and resulted in the shooting of Assistant Principal Nancy Blackwelder, and intern Joseph Bloznalis.

Blackwelder and Bloznalis, an assistant physical education teacher who was interning from the University of South Florida, were injured.

Harless was taken down by a bullet that grazed his shoulder during a shootout with the police outside the front entrance as he attempted to flee.

McCoy was sentenced to six years in adult prison, but served 14 months in a “youthful offenders” facility.