Lexington, SC (WLTX) — While Lexington police continue to investigate a threat against a local middle school on social media, Richland School District Two is reassuring parents of a local high school.
Lexington police say their investigation into a social media threat made against a local middle school is still active, although rumors that aren't true continue to spread.
The threat made against Lexington Middle School on Snapchat was first reported to law enforcement Monday night.
Lexington police say they, along with the Lexington County sheriff's Department and the State Law Enforcement Division are following up on leads, but no arrests have been made. They also say people are circulating false rumors online.
As a precaution, Lexington police put additional officers at Lexington Middle School and other Lexington schools, and they say they'll keep them there until the investigation is complete.
On Tuesday, Lexington Middle School gave parents the option of taking their children out of school for the day, and many took the school up on the offer.
Liv Mullarkey, a student at the school, says the threat definitely impacted attendance.
"I was in my science class, and half the people were either gone or being dismissed. So, 13 out of 22 people, including me, showed up," she said.
Liv was worried enough to have her parents come and take her home, too.
"The office was so crowded," she said. "You could hardly find your family in there. It was hard to find them."
Meanwhile, the principal of Richland Northeast High School sent a note home to parents Tuesday saying the same threat made against Lexington Middle School also included a statement about Richland Northeast High School as well.
However, Richland School District Two says the threat does not appear to be credible, and there is no evidence of an immediate safety concern on campus. The school resource officer at Richland Northeast told the school that the same post is circulating on social media in several states. They say the person who posts it is using the same photo and changing the names of the schools threatened each time.
"Richland Two’s emergency services director has been in contact with law enforcement and a district administrator from the other school district impacted by the threat," wrote Dr. Sabrina Suber in her note to parents. "They have shared with us that they have identified the name of an individual who shared the post. We do not have any student in our district that matches the name," she continued. "Also, they have learned that the photograph used in the post originated from one connected to a school in New Jersey."
Below is the full email sent to parents by Richland Northeast Principal Dr. Sabrina Suber:
I am contacting you this morning to let you know about a Snapchat threat. The post on Snapchat makes threats against a school in another Midlands district and our school, Richland Northeast.
The threat does not appear to be credible and there is no evidence of an immediate safety concern on our campus. However, we are being extremely cautious and are working closely with law enforcement.
The threat was reported to our School Resource Officer who began an investigation. He learned that the post is one circulating social media in multiple states. Individuals are using the same photo and changing the names of the schools threatened in the post.
Richland Two’s emergency services director has been in contact with law enforcement and a district administrator from the other school district impacted by the threat. They have shared with us that they have identified a name of an individual who shared the post. We do not have any student in our district that matches the name. Also, they have learned that the photograph used in the post originated from one connected to a school in New Jersey.
Again, please know that we are being extremely cautious. A threat of any nature is not a joke to us, and we continue to investigate each thoroughly with assistance from local law enforcement including our School Resource Officers.