Police says G.W. Danville social media threat not credible, but safety precautions will remain in place

DANVILLE, Va. – UPDATE

The Danville Police Department says it believes that a social media threat against George Washington High School on Friday isn’t credible.

This comes after a parent alerted the G.W. administration about an Instagram post of a shooting threat to GW; however, at this time, the police department says it has not found any Instagram post to validate the threat.

Nevertheless, safety precautions will still remain in place, which will include bookbag checks and other safety measures.

Officials say at this time, students are discouraged from bringing book bags to school, unless they are clear, to expedite the security process. While bookbags are still allowed at schools, bookbags that are not clear will be searched.

“Again, we want to thank parents and students for their continued patience and understanding as we continue to do what we can to keep our school safe,” school officials said.

ORIGINAL STORY

Security checks will now be in place for the remainder of the semester at George Washington High School in Danville after a potential social media threat.

In the post from the school on Friday morning, officials said that the school was placed on a “lock out” and students are being dismissed from buses one by one and students are being checked as they enter the building as a precaution.

Authorities said they were notified of the potential threat around 8:15 a.m. No evidence has been found to validate the potential threat, according to police.

“Danville police investigators are working to back track the source of the potential threat to George Washington High School,” a statement from police read. “At this point, the investigation is continuing but investigators are interviewing what is believed to be the first person to start sharing information of a threat on social media, and it cannot be validated that this individual ever actually saw or heard a threat at all.”

For the rest of the semester and as the investigation continues, officials said that security checks will continue and students are being discouraged from bringing book bags to expedite the process.

Authorities also said that police personnel beyond the normal school resource officers will continue to work with Danville Public Schools as a precaution.

You can read the full post from the school below: