Police have questioned three Festus High School freshmen about a social media post that could be viewed as a threat against the school. The students were released, but the investigation is ongoing, Police Chief Tim Lewis said today (Oct. 5).
“We don’t think the threat was very viable,” Lewis said. “It just looks like it was some kids making real dumb decisions. We’re still working on the investigation.”
Festus R-6 School District Superintendent Link Luttrell said district officials learned about the posting around 6 p.m. Wednesday. The post included a photo of the shooters in the Columbine massacre and vague wording perceived to be a threat to Festus High.
“It was on social media, maybe SnapChat,” Luttrell said. “It was a photo of the two who were involved in the Columbine shootings of 1999. There was vague wording that something like it could happen at Festus High School. We took it seriously.”
He said Festus High students initially discovered the post and told their parents. The parents contacted district officials and they contacted the police.
“We had some help identifying the students from other students,” Luttrell said.
As a precaution, Festus Police had a “presence” this morning throughout the district, particularly at Festus High, 501 Westwind Drive, Luttrell said, patrolling the various schools.
“This morning there were eight officers around campus,” he said. “Some were patrolling on foot and some were in patrol cars. They’ll be here throughout the day, just for today.”
He said he could not talk about any disciplinary actions that may be taken against the students because of district privacy policies.