“Disturbing” Snapchat message reported by Columbia Public Schools families, police investigating
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
A "disturbing message" on Snapchat seen by Columbia Public School students and parents has prompted a police investigation.
Rock Bridge High School principal Jacob Sirna told families Thursday morning the district's security team asked the Columbia Police Department to look into the message after parents and students reported the message. Sirna's email said the Snapchat account in question has since been deleted.
District spokeswoman Michelle Baumstark said the message was not specific to Rock Bridge High School or CPS.
"We appreciate the parents and guardians, and students, who have called and emailed to share this issue," Sirna said in the email. "It is truly a testament to the care and concern we have for our Bruin family that so many have reported this to us - we appreciate your awareness and communication."
Chief Operating Officer for the Missouri School Board's Association Center for Education Safety, John McDonald said a case like this can be difficult to investigate.
"There's no direct threat here, so if it's not targeted at a specific school, then how do you know what it's meant for, who it's meant for, the terms in the language that they used," McDonald said. "(The message) doesn't specify a time or place for school, but right now we're at a place where parents are nervous and worried."
McDonald said the investigation can face limitations when the source of the message is unclear. He added threats or messages sometimes come from overseas.
"Their investigation can only go so far without subpoenaing records from Snapchat," McDonald said. "Because there's no direct threat, Snapchat is very slow in responding, the more direct threat, the more rapid the response from the social media companies to law enforcement to help them out,"
Trina Hernandez has three children in the CPS district, her son is a sophomore at Rock Bridge High School. She said she removed her son from school Thursday after learning of the threat.
"It heartbreaking to hear things like that just because it is in a school and it's just becoming so common, you just never know," Hernandez said. "He (her son) was very concerned, his anxiety was just through the roof and he just was not feeling safe and he wanted to leave so we went and picked him up."
Hernandez said her son learned the message came from a Rock Bridge High School Snapchat page.
As far as the person responsible for the message, McDonald says they likely won't face any consequences.
"There's very little that can be done in that case. Certainly finding them, looking at other posts that they made," McDonald said. "It could be a harassment charge but that a really low level charge and it would've to probably be more substantial or repeated but it is possible there could be charges based on information we just don't know."
With threats and shootings taking place at schools across the country, McDonald said CPS handled the situation appropriately.
"Our single biggest failure in any crisis is communication. When we fail to communicate, trying to get in trouble. In this case, you had a school that decided to communicate and make sure they did something and certainly can't fault into that." McDonald said.
ABC 17 News reached out to the Columbia Police Department to learn more about the investigation.
The department said they did not have any information at this time.
The Missouri State Highway Patrol has an anonymous hotline to report school violence and threats. Tips can be submitted through the app, by phone, online or by text message.
Records obtained by ABC 17 News show that Courage2Report, received 927 tips between Jan. 1-July 3 of this year. Of those, 106 involved bullying or repeated harassment, 94 were threats to kill, 65 were school shooting threats, 58 were reports of physical assault, and 33 involved alcohol or drugs.
