Last week many school districts, including ours, worked closely with local law enforcement to investigate vague social media threats that mentioned some of our schools. Our Safety and Security team and local and federal law enforcement have reviewed and investigated and found the threats not to be credible.
All threats are taken seriously and treated as credible until law enforcement determines otherwise to keep the community, school, students and staff safe.
We want to address the impact of social media threats and share how we can work together to reduce unnecessary alarm.
Social media posts often take the shape of blurry screenshots, vague messages, or altered images with unclear threats toward schools. These posts can also appear as forwarded messages, reposted images, or edited photos or videos. When reposted by families, community members, and students, they cause unnecessary stress and concern. They could lead to postponed events, canceled classes and loss of money and resources.
The Seriousness of Making Threats
Posting a threat on social media, through text message, or any digital media is a crime, even if it is only intended as a hoax or to scare, and it can lead to serious consequences. For example, last year, a student was arrested for a social media threat to one of our schools, and the case was forwarded to the prosecutor’s office.
Please talk with your student about the seriousness of making any kind of threat, even as a joke. We do not want a student to unknowingly take an action that could have life-altering consequences.
Reporting vs Reposting
Please report these threats to local law enforcement instead of reposting the threat to social media platforms.
- Reporting a threat to law enforcement and sharing information on where you saw the threat allows law enforcement to investigate the source of the post.
- Reposting or sharing a threat to warn others spreads it farther from its original source and causes unnecessary alarm and fear.
Don’t repost a threat. Report it!
Please immediately report these posts to law enforcement. Many of these threats get altered and reposted with added captions. If you see something, say something. No one wants students to miss important days of school due to fear and anxiety. Our students can’t learn if they’re not in school.