Hickman students return to school after gun scare at Homecoming dance

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Students at Hickman High School returned to class Monday without new information on what led to the chaos that followed a gun scare at Saturday's Homecoming dance.

The dance ended early when rumors of a gunman led to panic. Parents and students took to social media to share their accounts of running out of the school and jumping over fences to get away from the dance. However, school officials and police say there were no first-hand gun-sighting accounts and therefore the reports are just rumors at this point.

Michelle Baumstark, spokeswoman for the Columbia Public Schools, said the school wants students to report any information they have about the incident but refrain from spreading "rumors that create panic and fear and consume district and community resources."

"It was a lot of 'I heard it from this person, who heard it from this person,'" Baumstark said. "No photos. No video."

ABC 17 asked Baumstark if the incident will have an effect on Rock Bridge's upcoming homecoming dance, and she did not comment on the matter.

Second Ward City Councilwoman Andrea Waner's sister was at the dance. Waner wrote on Twitter that her sister was "terrified and puking," and that the way schools and parents address these fears in students matters.

"As an elected official, situations like this further underscore the need for the City to commit time and resources to implement recommendations set forth in the Mayor's Taskforce on Violence," Waner wrote in a text message to ABC 17 News.

Baumstark said the school's counselors are available to talk with students who may have anxieties to work out over the incident.

"We always have counselors available for students who may need them," Baumstark said. "And, if a student does have a name or actual first-hand information they can share, we encourage them to immediately report it to the school."