At Danforth Junior High last week a threat insinuating gun violence was made by a student on the Danforth campus. At Jacob’s Well Elementary, multiple students reported a chat that took place on Snapchat that threatened others in a private chat group. Both remarks were about a future event.
Fortunately, investigators deemed that the threat at Danforth wasn’t credible and that there was no danger to anyone on campus. At Jacob’s Well, investigators found that a JWE student was allowed to enter a private Snapchat group by posing as a friend. Once in, the student threatened harm to the other students as a joke.
Wimberley Independent School District administrators issued an email to parents to explain both incidents.
Concerning the incident at Danforth, the email said, “An investigation was immediately initiated that included the DJH School Resource Officer. The investigation involved direct questioning of the student who made the claim and other students who heard the remarks.”
At Jacob’s Well, the email stated, “there was no threat made regarding school or the JWE campus, [however] this situation is something we take very seriously and JWE’s SRO and administrators are continuing to monitor the situation.”
“Unfortunately these two instances,” WISD officials wrote, “are similar to incidents that have been happening in our region and state. Recently, many of our neighboring districts and others across the state have been receiving credible and non-credible threats to schools and school communities. We urge you to have a conversation with your children and reinforce to them that making threats is not a joke; it is a crime.”
Officials went on “to commend the students who immediately reported what they heard and saw” as well as “the campus SROs and staff who responded swiftly.”
According to reports in the New York Times, 700 people were arrested last week for making threats against schools that forced lockdowns and canceled classes in at least a dozen states. The threats came after the school shooting in Georgia on September 4 that left two students and two teachers dead. A 14-year-old was charged with the murders.
Nexstar Media, the largest local broadcast television group in the U. S. headquartered in Irving, Texas, last week reported threats to at least 20 schools this month from students and outsiders.
KXAN reported that the Hays Consolidated Independent School District said a sixth grader was detained September 12 in connection with a threat. The Hays County Sheriff’s Office confirmed to KXAN it charged a minor with a felony false report. On September 13, a total of three sixthgrade students were arrested and charged in connection to the threats posted on social media.
KXAN also reported that Austin Police arrested a person for making a terroristic threat September 12 at Hill Elementary School. On September 15, a Westlake High School student was arrested and accused of making terroristic threats against the school and students on Snapchat.
Four Bastrop Middle School students were arrested after a threat toward the school was posted on social media. Two Pflugerville ISD students were arrested in connection with threats made to several campuses in the district.
Likewise, Marble Falls ISD reported threats, and Llano ISD said a person was in custody after making threats on social media. Similar threats were made in Lubbock, Amarillo, Wichita Falls, San Angelo, McAllen, and Edinburg.
According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, issuing a threat—even over social media, via text message, or through e-mail—is a federal crime. Those who post or send these threats can receive up to five years in federal prison, or they can face state or local charges.
