The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office responded to a rash of threats of violence at schools over a six-day period this month.
The Sheriff’s Office was called on April 4 about a threat to the Grandview R-2 School District campus west of Hillsboro, and on April 9 deputies were called about possible threats to three schools or school campuses – the Fox C-6 School District’s Seckman campus in Imperial, as well as De Soto High School and Northwest High School in Cedar Hill.
Undersheriff Tim Whitney said the four calls were not connected, and he is not aware of any social media trends that may have contributed to the reported threats.
“We take every school threat with the utmost seriousness because our children’s safety demands nothing less,” he said. “As a father of two children in our local schools and the husband of a public school teacher, this issue is deeply personal to me. I know the trust our community places in us to keep students and staff safe, and I take that responsibility to heart.”
On April 4, the Grandview campus, which is home to the district’s high, middle and elementary schools, was locked down after a high school student reportedly discovered a handwritten threat on a bathroom stall in the district’s high school. The school’s students were moved to another building on the campus as investigators searched for any potential threats, according to district officials.
On April 9, the Seckman campus, which also has a high, middle and elementary school, was put on a soft lockdown at about 1 p.m. after two consecutive threatening phone calls were made to the high school’s main office, Superintendent Paul Fregeau said in a letter sent to families and staff on that day.
The Sheriff’s Office determined the two phone calls about Seckman High came from out-of-country phone numbers and were not credible threats.
Also on April 9, Sheriff’s Office deputies were called to the De Soto and Northwest high schools due to threats of violence.
At De Soto High, a student allegedly made a threat, and the case was turned over to juvenile authorities following a Sheriff’s Office investigation, Whitney said.
At Northwest High, a former student reportedly threatened violence, but no evidence that an actual threat was made or implied was found, Whitney said.
He also said neither of those high schools held a lockdown.
“We treat every threat as credible and commit significant resources to both thoroughly investigating the situation and ensuring the safety of our children,” Whitney said. “No threat, regardless of how it’s made, should ever be dismissed or taken lightly. Each one warrants the full attention and response of law enforcement. I can think of no greater tragedy than a failure to act on a school threat that results in harm. Simply put, we will always take these threats seriously and respond with the urgency they demand.”
Whitney said school threats take a lot of resources and time to investigate.
“In many cases, this means prioritizing our investigative efforts over other investigations due to the urgency school threats demand,” he said. “We also redirect personnel from other divisions, such as uniform patrol and special operations, to provide an increased security presence on campus, supplementing the school resource officers already stationed at our schools.”
If the Sheriff’s Office investigates a school threat and gathers enough evidence that it is a credible one, the office would likely seek criminal charges through the Jefferson County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office for either first-degree making a terrorist threat, a class D felony, or second-degree making a terrorist threat, a class E felony, Whitney said.
A class D felony is punishable by up to seven years in prison, and a class E felony carries a penalty of up to four years in prison.