Snapchat alerted the FBI to a threat a student allegedly made to Lawrence High School, but a local investigation found that the threat wasn’t credible, school officials said Friday.
District spokesperson Julie Boyle said LHS informed staff and families after learning of an investigation that had taken place Thursday night.
LHS Principal Quentin Rials sent an email to staff and families at 6:25 a.m. Friday that said the FBI had worked with the Lawrence Police Department to trace the IP address to an LHS student.
LPD then visited the student and their family’s home to interview them before deeming the threat to be not credible.
“The person who sent the message said it was sent to a small group of people as a ‘joke,'” Laura McCabe, a spokesperson for LPD, said via email Friday.
Rials wrote that LHS’ administrative team would follow up with the student and family, “take disciplinary action in accordance with Board Policy, and initiate a plan of support for the student.”
“I want to share my appreciation of law enforcement for their quick actions in investigating this social media threat and determining that it posed no risk to the safety of our school,” he wrote.
Snapchat monitors accounts and often reports violent messaging to law enforcement. The Lafayette Journal & Courier reported in October that Snapchat alerted the FBI to a person’s threat to shoot at a high school, and within hours of the social media post being published, the local sheriff’s office arrested the person at their house.
The Lawrence school district, along with districts nationwide, is dealing with a surge in threats of gun violence toward schools, most allegedly made by students. Lawrence police and school officials said they’ve investigated alleged threats mostly found on social media and that they believe students are desensitized to violence.
They’ve encouraged the community to report all threats of violence promptly.
“It is never ok to joke about school violence or threats to anyone, ever,” McCabe said.
McCabe emphasized the importance of LPD’s relationships with other organizations that have a vested interest in keeping schools safe.
“This is a perfect example of all those relationships working together to find answers and keep our schools safe. The system worked,” she said.
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Maya Hodison (she/her), equity reporter, can be reached at mhodison@lawrencekstimes.com. Read more of her work for the Times here. Check out her staff bio here.
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Snapchat alerts FBI to threat of gun violence to Lawrence High; police say it wasn’t credible
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