Perry County School District 32 was placed on lockdown Monday morning as a preventative measure after the administration became aware of a threat made on social media of a potential school shooting.
According to the school district, the lockdown was part of its emergency protocols for handling crisis situations, including potential threats, intruders, and natural disasters like earthquakes and tornados. Students were released from lockdown at 10:55 a.m. Monday after local law enforcement determined that continuing a normal school day was safe.
After a thorough investigation by local law enforcement agencies, the social media post reported to a staff member as students began the school day was determined not to be a credible threat.
The social media post referred to a shooting at “Perryville school” on “wensday (sic) at 8:45.” Authorities believe the threat may have originated with a social media post targeting Texas schools that had spread across the nation in recent days, affecting schools with names similar to those of the Texas schools, one of which is Perry School.
School was in session Tuesday and Wednesday. with extra law enforcement patrols on campus and visible supervision in all areas. School is not in session on Thursday for Teacher Collaboration Day or Friday for the East Perry Community Fair.
“For now, we must come together as a community that cares about our children and their
Education,” said Dr. Fara Jones, superintendent. “I am asking for your help and support.
These incidents cause stress on our students and families, as well as our staff. They also disrupt the learning environment and redirect valuable community resources. We must all encourage our students to refrain from making social media posts that may be interpreted as a threat to schools, even as a joke.”
If age-appropriate, Jones asked parents and guardians to speak to their children about the seriousness of making or sharing a threat they have seen online.
“Please help us emphasize to all students that making a threat against any school — whether it occurs on social media, in conversation, as writing on a bathroom wall, or in any other format — has serious legal and disciplinary consequences,” Jones said. “As a district, we will process all incidents in fulfillment of our district’s policies with support from Perryville Police and Perry County Sheriff’s Departments, as well as the juvenile court.
“Please also talk to your student about the proper way to report any threatening post or communication they may find on social media. Remind them: If you see a social media threat, do not forward or repost it. Instead, take a screenshot and show it to your parents, your school, and the police. Re-sharing the post online makes it harder for police to determine the source and slows down the investigation.”
Jones stressed that the school district will continue to encourage an environment where
students, staff, and families will feel empowered to report anything suspicious or unusual.
“Prompt reporting is important in helping us to be proactive in maintaining a safe school environment,” she said. “We also ask the adults in our community to refrain from seeking answers about situations such as these on social media. This creates rumors, which can be far from the truth, and increases the fear for our students and their families. We share the latest information with you as we receive it using our district’s automated messaging system. For example, our parents received multiple updates throughout the day as more information became available. Our commitment to you is to do all we can to keep our students and staff safe.
“We have multiple layers of safety in our schools, including, but not limited to, our secure entrances where visitors must show ID and cannot access the building without going through the main office; the Raptor screening system for all visitors; School Resources Officers who work on campus; a strong partnership with our local police; the use of Go Guardian, the software used to monitor student online activity for keywords and phrases; solid student-teacher relationships; district and building emergency plans; and drills to practice our response in emergencies. Please assure your students that we are doing all we can to keep them safe. We truly appreciate our partnership with our families in all we do.”
Jones encouraged anyone with questions or concerns to contact her at fjones@pcsd32.com.
