The Surry County Sheriff’s Office has revealed a school threat on social media was invalid. The Sheriff’s Office said it later determined there was no actual threat made to any school, in any jurisdiction.
That’s after the Stokes County Schools District was ordered to shelter in place Friday after an unspecified threat was posted on social media that was later found to be invalid.
The Surry County Sheriff’s Office said it received information from another North Carolina Sheriff’s agency regarding a potential threat on social media. At the time, the Sheriff’s Office learned it was highly probable the act of violence might possibly occur within Surry County. Schools were alerted, and increased patrols were ordered to secure schools. However, the Sheriff’s Office said it was later determined a large portion of the information relayed to them was invalid.
The Sheriff’s Office issued the following statement about the incident: “It is unfortunate this event placed unwarranted stress on any student, parent, or school staff member. The Surry County Sheriff’s Office takes all actual or perceived threats to our schools or our citizens very seriously and we will vigorously investigate these incidents to the fullest. The Sheriff’s Office would like to reiterate that our investigation revealed that no threat occurred to any school or person in any jurisdiction.”
Other school districts were also placed on high alert and issued statements earlier in the day.
Winston-Salem Forsyth County Schools says after they received word of a non-specific threat found on social media, they are giving it 'extra attention', but are not in shelter in place mode.
The school released this statement to WFMY News 2:
"This morning we received information that a non-specific threat was made to a school in our region. The initial threat was made to the Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office. Again, the threat was not to our schools.
The Stokes County Sheriff's Department is aware and is in contact with the other law enforcement agencies. You will see an increase in law enforcement presence on our school campuses.
Student safety is the highest priority for Stokes County Schools and the Stokes County Sheriff’s Office. We are all working diligently with the other school districts in our region to ensure the safety of all children in Stokes County."
Surry County Schools posted this statement on their Facebook page:
"This is Dr. Travis Reeves, Superintendent of Surry County Schools. This morning we received information that a non-specific threat was made to schools in our region. The initial threat was made to the Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office and was communicated to the Surry County Sheriff’s Office. The Surry County Sheriff’s Office is currently investigating, and you will see an increase in law enforcement presence on all of our 19 school campuses.
Student safety is the highest priority for Surry County Schools and the Surry County Sheriff’s Office and we are all working diligently with the other school districts in our region to ensure the safety of all children in Surry County. We appreciate everyone’s efforts to work with us in that process, and once we have additional information, we will update you."
The investigation is ongoing.
Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office says they were made aware of “generalized threats” to other area schools but no schools in Forsyth County were targeted specifically targeted. Deputies are monitoring the situation.
Rockingham County Schools posted this statement on their Facebook page:
RCS Families,
This is an important message from the RCS District School Safety Team.
We received a safety alert out of Surry County regarding a male identifying himself as a "good citizen" that stated he had an arsenal of guns and that he was going to shoot up schools, but no specific location(s) were given.
Again this was out of SURRY COUNTY not ROCKINGHAM COUNTY, but we are taking every precaution necessary to keep your children safe. Law enforcement are on high alert, all administration have been notified and we wanted to notify you that we will implement our school crisis plans if needed. All our children are safe and all of our administrators and School Resource Officers are remaining vigilant. Safety is of the utmost importance to us in Rockingham County and we just want to keep you informed. Thank you for your support.
**An Alert Now message will also be sent!**
Please check for updates on wfmynews2.com, Facebook and Twitter.