CAMPBELL COUNTY, Va. – School threats aren’t new to the region, but a recent uptick in them has school leaders putting their foot down.
It was just last week at Brookville High School a shooting threat surfaced on Facebook. While investigators say it wasn’t legitimate, the 16-year-old was charged with a felony. School leaders hope it sets an example moving forward of just how serious school threats are.
A local superintendent added that with social media at our fingertips, news spreads quickly, making it tough to know what’s true.
“In the earlier years, we were scrubbing off messages on a bathroom wall,” said Campbell County Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Robert Johnson. “Social media has made it much quicker. When you bring more people into that conversation, rumors get started.”
However, when it comes to school-related threats, it’s something school officials don’t take lightly.
“If they make a threat to do damage or harm someone, we’re going to take it very seriously,” said Superintendent Dr. Johnson. “They’re not going to be in school and they’re going to be prosecuted.”
The district works with the Sheriff’s Office to investigate all threats. Together, they’re sending a clear message.
“It’s a Class 6 Felony that can stay on your record for a very long time,” Lt. J.J. Rater with the Campbell County Sheriff’s Department said. “There’s a lot of consequences that come with a felony, whether that’s voting or gun rights. It’s not a joke.”
While most threats are only that, they take up a lot of resources and time. Campbell County Schools have trained threat assessment teams to keep students safe.
They follow a protocol to find out where the threat came from and if it’s real.
“Psychologically, it’s traumatic for a lot of kids today to hear that,” Superintendent Dr. Johnson said. “They see things on TV and suddenly in their school they hear a threat, it’s traumatic for them.”
If your kid tells you about a threat, call the school administration or 911 right away, that way they can get to the bottom of it before panic spreads.