by Kate Evans & Kate Shunney
Police continue to investigate the circumstances around social media comments that led to a threat assessment at Berkeley Springs High School on Monday morning, September 9 and to address another social media post that appeared on Tuesday and threatened more schools and school buses. On Tuesday night, school officials said they had worked with law enforcement and had a student in custody related to the comments.
School officials said they received word of a shooting threat on social media early Monday, September 9. Law enforcement went to the campus to investigate the situation.
Morgan County Schools Superintendent David Banks said in a Monday morning phone call with The Morgan Messenger that a parent had posted on Facebook they’d heard a student had a gun and was going to bring it to school. Others reported that the juvenile had threatened violence with the firearm.
Early on Monday, police said they had determined there was no credible threat to student safety at the school.
Later on Monday, Morgan County Sheriff K.C. Bohrer confirmed that officers had found a firearm in the vicinity of the school grounds. Bohrer said the gun was tied to an unrelated incident in the area last Friday that involved the same student.
Superintendent Banks said that the high school was not on lockdown and that the student who was referenced in the threat situation was not in school on Monday. Additional police were sent to the high school complex at dismissal time, said school officials.
Banks advised that if a parent learns something like this that they should call the police or the school instead of posting it on Facebook.
In a joint statement from Banks and Morgan County Sheriff K.C. Bohrer, officials said late Monday morning that law enforcement was completing a thorough investigation into the events surrounding the threat and post.
“Law Enforcement has identified a possible connection between the social media post and an out of school incident that occurred last Friday evening. Law Enforcement is continuing a thorough investigation into this separate incident,” the statement said.
Morgan County Sheriff’s Department was assisted by the West Virginia State Police in handling the incident.
Superintendent Banks released the following statement on the county schools website on Monday morning around 9:30 a.m.:
“This morning, Morgan County Schools were made aware of a threat made via social media. We immediately began working with our law enforcement partners to establish the credibility of this threat and take all necessary precautions. At this time, there is no credible threat to student safety.”
“As we all navigate the emotions of recent events at schools across the country, please speak with your students about how their words and actions can impact others and themselves. Any threats will be evaluated by local law enforcement and school officials, and all appropriate disciplinary measures will be taken. Please always remember if you see something, say something. Safety is a team effort,” the statement said.
Local parents expressed frustration at a delay in communication on Monday morning as they became aware of the police presence at the school. On Tuesday night after the second round of social media posts, several said they would keep their students home from school on Wednesday.
The incident comes on the heels of a school shooting at Apalachee High School in Georgia last Wednesday, September 4 that claimed the lives of two students and two teachers.
At press time, the Sheriff’s Department continued to investigate the events and an additional online social media threat that had been made on Tuesday night apparently targeted at the county’s intermediate school complex and buses.
