Police and Washington City Schools are taking action after another threat on “Yik Yak” was posted Sunday afternoon aimed at one of the district’s schools. At approximately 12:10 p.m., an anonymous person made the threatening post on the Yik Yak social media app, which allows people to to anonymously create and view posts. The post was immediately spotted by members of the Washington C.H. Police Department and the school district was notified. There have been several threats of violence made against the Washington City School District on Yik Yak since last Tuesday night. Police have contacted the FBI to assist with the local investigation into the person or persons responsible for the threats. “Representatives from the Joint Terrorism Task Force will be arriving in Washington C.H. Monday morning to assist local police with the investigation into the terroristic threats,” said WPD Lt. Jon Long. Two Washington C.H. students, a 16-year-old and 14-year old, have already been charged with second-degree felony inducing panic. According to Long, these arrests stem from postings made on social media last Friday. WPD officers met with Washington City Schools Superintendent Matthew McCorkle on Sunday afternoon to discuss the newest threat that was made. “Measures are being taken to make certain that there is no imminent threat to the high school or the middle school,” said Long. On Sunday evening, McCorkle sent out an automated message to the district parents and employees. “In response to the threat, we have enacted the necessary precautions to provide a safe and secure school building,” McCorkle said. “Please understand that for security reasons, some confidentiality is necessary to ensure the utmost safety for our kids. One security measure we are implementing at the high school and middle school is that no book bags, backpacks, duffle bags, or any other bag deemed to be similar will be carried into the building. All books, gym clothes, or other school material must be carried in by hand.” In addition, the front doors that face Elm Street will no longer be used as an entrance at the start of the day, McCorkle said. All students must enter the building through the cafeteria or the principal’s office entrance. “The police department has been in consultation with Yik Yak and is working on obtaining the identification of the individual responsible for this post,” said McCorkle. “It appears that some people don’t realize that while posts on Yik Yak are anonymous to the general public, that each post does leave an electronic trail. Even if a post is only up for a few minutes, as was the case today, and is then deleted, the record of the posting is still available to law enforcement through legal protocols. We have been assured that when this person is caught, they will be punished to the fullest extent of the law.” Police said they believe that another person who has not made any threatening posts has knowledge of the identity of the person(s) who made some of the threats. “We are asking that this person contact us, and can do so anonymously,” said Long. “We hope this person can help us, which will lead to a swift resolution and will return the school district back to the tranquility it had last week.” McCorkle said he understands that the past few days have been “trying and frustrating” for everyone within the school community. “There is a great deal of information and misinformation that has been spread throughout the community,” he said. “Most of this has been done with the intention of being helpful, but unfortunately, has often added to the uncertainty and panic that has resulted. As a reminder, all official school district communication will come through this all-call system.” As of Sunday evening, Washington City Schools were scheduled to be in session on Monday. “Should law enforcement advise us of any threat that would warrant the closing of school in order to protect the safety of our students and staff, that action would be put into place and we would reschedule that day of school to another day later in the school calendar,” McCorkle said. Recently school officials banned cell phone usage during school hours. Reach Ryan Carter at (740) 313-0352 or on Twitter @rywica
Posted on: Mon, 10 Nov 2014 02:37:56 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015