False rumors of high school shooter threat spread via text, Snapchat for second day – The Mercury News

OAKLEY Aday after Freedom High administrators and police determined a threat to shoot some people at school was not credible, students using their cell phones fanned the rumor by text and Snapchat on Fridayprompting a return of police for a midday rally.

People were saying there would be a shooting during the rally, Freedom Principal Kelly Manke said Friday by phone. Students started sending text messages and it got out of control.

Oakleypolice again Friday determined it was not a credible threat, and that the social media buzz was linked to Thursdays incident, she said.

Manke sent a notice Friday to parents about both incidents and reminded students to report rumors of violence to adults, rather than to each other by social media. What added to the confusion was much of the rumors on the Snapchat app disappeared once students read the messages, so administrators had trouble tracking down the discussion.

The students who initiated the text messages were interviewed and it was determined that the text chain started yesterday evening in response to the comments made in class at the end of the day on Thursday, Manke wrote in the letter. The Oakley PD has determined that the text messages are connected to yesterdays comments and that it is not a credible threat.

It was shortly before 3 p.m. Thursday when a student reported to a teacher that he overheard aclassmate threatening to shoot people on campus. The student who made the report was questioned and the school resource officer visited the home of the person who made the threat where he spoke to that student and parent, Manke said.

That Oakley police officer determined the threat was not credible, she said.

Friday morning, before students had a spring rally to celebrate athletes, honor students and the upcoming end to the school year, an administrator received a report of a text chain regarding a student bringing a gun on campus. The school resource officer was contacted again and they determined the chain of social media messages started Thursday evening after students heard rumors of the earlier incident, Manke said, and Fridays rumors werealso deemed not to be credible.

There was no lockdown. But we did have a police presence at the rally, the principal said.

The rally otherwise continued as scheduled, Manke said.

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False rumors of high school shooter threat spread via text, Snapchat for second day - The Mercury News