BEDFORD COUNTY, Va – Brandy Gibson has a child at Staunton River High School.
“I love this school, I went to this school, but I think, maybe, they need to let us know that everything is fine,” Gibson said.
Hours after the Bedford County Sheriff's Office found no merit and would not charge a high school student for making an alleged threat online Monday night, Gibson created an online petition calling for school leaders to help students.
“More evaluations on mental illness. I think we need to focus on that a lot and the violence and the safety,“ Gibson said.
Nearly 1,000 people have signed the petition.
"There's parents on there (who)don't want to send their kids to school. There's parents that are homeschooling because of things like this," Gibson said.
School leaders tell 10 News 130 students were absent Wednesday; that's after almost 200 kids didn't show up on Tuesday.
Students are now gradually making their way back.
"I felt comfortable, confident enough that they would be OK,” Gibson said.
The Sheriff's Office said, "The child in question was never on school property Tuesday morning. In fact, our investigation revealed he wasn't even close to being on school property.”
Bedford County Public Schools told 10 News, "The student in question will not be attending SRHS for at least the immediate future."
Gibson said, she wants her petition and the recent situation to spark a conversation with parents and school leaders.
"Some have gotten to the point where they just have brushed it off and they say they're just really over it. And I don't think we should be over it," Gibson said. "I want everybody to stand up for their children when nobody else is. We are their voices."