VINTON POLICE RESPOND TO WIDE-SPREAD FALSE RUMORS OF A SCHOOL SHOOTING INCIDENT

The Vinton Police Department has been made aware of a wide-spread, false rumor among students and parents of the Vinton-Shellsburg School District, where information is being circulated that a school shooting incident may take place at either the Vinton-Shellsburg Middle School, or the Vinton-Shellsburg High School on Friday, May 13.

This rumor is unequivocally false. School officials have been actively investigating the source of this rumor since they were first made aware of it early Thursday, and were quickly able to trace the origin of this rumor to a conversation between two students at the High School, speaking to each other in hypothetical terms about recent, high profile events at the High School, and speculating out loud about what could be next. This conversation was overheard by yet another student, was taken out of context, then conveyed to a parent and other students, from where it rapidly took on a life of its own. Students began text messaging other students and parents, and references to this rumor began appearing on social networking sites. Parents began communicating with each other, and in a very short period of time, many in the community with direct ties to the school facilities were aware of the rumor, and in turn, some became concerned about the safety and welfare of their children within these buildings as a result. In spite of the rapid and wide-spread circulation of this rumor throughout the day and into the evening, local law enforcement was not directly contacted by anyone about it until 8:03 p.m. Thursday evening, when a concerned parent called the Vinton Police Department, reporting what they had heard. Neither the Vinton Police Department, nor the Vinton-Shellsburg School District have anycredible information to indicate that anyone is planning such an incident, or that any such incident will take place. Based upon the interviews and inquiries school officials conducted with students throughout the day on Thursday, school and law enforcement officials are confident that there is no reason to believe there is any threat of danger for anyone at either of these buildings tomorrow. Vinton Police officers will be stationed at the main entrances of the Middle School and the High School buildings Friday morning to greet students, and answer any questions parents may have.

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LH May 13, 2011, 9:44 am As a parent of a middle school student, I am shocked and alarmed that I found out about this incident (whether a rumer or not) on Vinton Today, the next day. We have technology to notify of bad weather vie text or email and yet something of this magnitude is kept quiet??? So if we don\'t have direct ties to the school facilities, we know nothing about this??

MG May 13, 2011, 10:34 am I agree, Lisa

L@VT May 13, 2011, 11:35 am The only comments we are posting, are those that have a complete name attached :)

JY May 13, 2011, 12:15 pm It\'s a shame that the police wern\'t notified earlier then they were then maybe the students wouldn\'t have spread this all over but after the last week I can\'t blame any student or parent who was on edge about this. The school needs to work closer with the police department; if they would have, maybe a student would have mentioned it to them and they would not have been the last to know.

TM May 13, 2011, 12:45 pm The school should have contacted the police department as soon as the \"rumor\" surfaced instead of conducting their own interviews during the day on Thursday. Any threats of violence should be taken very seriously. I would like to say \"Thank you\" to the parent who did notify the police dept.

AL May 13, 2011, 1:20 pm I agree - VPD should have been contacted immediately, not handled or investigated by administration first. And that social networking could have acted quickly in response - we have the ability to email/text the district-wide folks for weather - agree should have been used here as well - even if only to direct to further information somewhere else. It troubles me that these incidents are left to be conveyed by other media and our kids.

ar May 13, 2011, 2:28 pm As I learned of this I talked with the police and let them know my concern. Last week I had no clue about the bomb threat until school was out I have a daughter in the elementary school, even though that school wasn\'t mentioned I was still upset that this was being said I also spoke with a staff member who said they knew about it and administration was on alert so after that I called the police back and told them this which really frusterated me because the police new nothing about it if it wasent for me our children go to school and we expect them to be safe and to me this should have been a prioraty for them to tell the police dept and let all of us know that it was false so we didn\'t have to worry I\'m very upset about this

PS May 13, 2011, 3:08 pm The investigation didn\'t go on \"during the day\", school administration \"quickly\" determined it was a false rumor. I seriously doubt the police could track down the origin of a false rumor faster than the school administration. I wouldn\'t call a false rumor an \"incident\" either. I have no desire to bash the school administration for what senseless people text and tweet.

KB May 16, 2011, 9:50 am I understand how things that are overheard can take on a life of their own and I am glad there was a Police presence at the school. I am curious how everyone began text messaging during school hours. I thought cell phone usage was prohibited during classtime and school in general.

News : VINTON POLICE RESPOND TO WIDE-SPREAD FALSE RUMORS OF A SCHOOL SHOOTING INCIDENT

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