Vienna School District taking precautions Friday in response to online threats
VIENNA, Mo. (KMIZ)
The superintendent of the Vienna School District posted on social media Friday that the district is taking extra safety precautions after law enforcement investigated a threatening social media post.
A message was first posted to the Vienna School District Facebook page around 8 a.m. informing parents a post was made on TikTok threatening a shooting at Maries R-1 and other districts. It said police investigated the threat and determined it was unfounded.
Another post a couple of hours later explained the situation.
"While we do not believe these threats to be credible, we are working with local law enforcement to investigate and bolster security," Superintendent Teresa Messersmith wrote on Facebook.
In an email to ABC 17 News, Messersmith said district officials swept the building before school started and ensured all exterior doors were secure. They also looked at cameras to make sure no one entered the building overnight.
She said two sheriff deputies and one police officer were present on campus, with police being in and out of the building all morning and scheduled to be present again at dismissal.
Faculty and staff were made aware of the situation and told to take extra precautions, Messersmith said. School counselors also visited classrooms to make sure students' mental health needs are addressed and administrators have been walking the hallways.
No students are allowed outside of the building Friday for any recess or gym classes.
Messersmith said the message was communicated to parents via Facebook and a mobile app. She said the district uses an app called Parent Square to allow parents to receive messages from the district quickly. Parents can sign up to receive these messages.
Messersmith encouraged parents to talk with their children about reporting any threatening posts to school staff and police. People are encouraged not to share the posts.
"These incidents cause stress on our students and families, as well as our staff," Messersmith wrote. "They also disrupt the learning environment. We appreciate our administrators and local law enforcement partners who work quickly and thoroughly to investigate these threats."
She also encouraged parents to talk to their students about the seriousness of making a threat.
This comes after Columbia Public Schools sent a message to parents Thursday about threats circulating on social media. The district said those threats are also not credible and is asking people to not share social media posts but instead report it to school administrators and police.
Several other school districts around Missouri reported non-credible social media threats with some, such as the Jackson School District in southeast Missouri, calling off classes and sporting events.
Check back for updates.
