Yelm, Olympia high schools respond to rumored threats
Yelm and Olympia schools have responded to rumored threats in the past few days, following the Oxford High School shooting in Michigan.
Yelm High School “proactively” closed Thursday as law enforcement investigated rumors of potential threats. School officials and law enforcement have contacted multiple students who reported the rumors on social media, according to a message from Yelm Community Schools Superintendent Brian Wharton.
“We always take reports seriously and involve law enforcement,” Wharton said. “At this time, there are no substantiated threats but understand that the ‘rumors’ continue to spread. In no way do we want to minimize any concern; however, this type of behavior is occurring nationally and statewide.”
On Tuesday, Olympia’s Capital High School locked its exterior doors in response to a “third-party report” that an out-of-area student planned to bring a weapon to the campus. The Olympia School District announced the lockout in a social media post.
The campus lifted the lockout just before 2 p.m. Tuesday after the Olympia Police Department determined there was no threat at the time, according to a follow-up post.
In connection to the lockout, Lt. Paul Lower at the Olympia Police Department told The Olympian officers booked one juvenile into the Thurston County Juvenile Detention facility on suspicion of harassment and false statements.
Lower said the juvenile admitted to police that they misled another student about a threat against the school. He added there have been no other threats against Olympia schools.
The Olympia Police Department took the threat seriously, Lower said, especially in light of the Nov. 30 Oxford High School shooting in Michigan that left four students dead and six others wounded. Following the shooting, dozens of Michigan schools closed amid copycat threats and rumors.
Yelm police have been investigating the potential threats locally, Assistant Chief Rob Carlson said, but have not found evidence to substantiate the rumors. As such, school administrators chose to reopen the campus Friday.
In his Thursday message, Wharton said Yelm school officials will follow-up on specific reports as needed.
“We will continue to work with law enforcement on campus and encourage students to report accurate and first-hand information and avoid forwarding social media posts or comments,” Wharton said.
Carlson described the situation as a “social media monster” with no clear origin. After visiting the campus Friday morning, he said the situation appears safe.
Though the Oxford High School shooting remains fresh in people’s minds, Carlson said threats against schools have been circulating for decades. He said he has not found a direct link between the recent rumors and the Michigan shooting.
“These kinds of situations where an unfortunate incident occurs in another location, the fallout creates what we’re seeing today,” Carlson said. “I think it’s common for this kind of thing to happen, but we’ve just got to take a very serious look into it.”
If someone does find or receive a threat against a school, Lower recommends calling 911 so officers can immediately investigate. He said his department works closely with the Olympia School District on these matters.
“This is a big team effort by the schools and the police department,” Lower said. “So, the first thing and the best thing to do is to call 911 and report it.”
