MOUNT VERNON – City School Superintendent Bill Seder provided more information Tuesday about the alleged threat made via SnapChat Monday evening by a student.
“We thought it important to provide you with an update relative to the events that led to several ‘Knox Alerts’ last evening and again this morning. If you don’t have ‘Knox Alerts’ we would encourage you to sign up for this notification system as we use it as a communications tool for emergencies, announcements, reminders, and weather related cancelations and delays. You can sign up for this free service through the communications tab on our district website.
We became aware of a student threat around 7:30 pm on Monday evening. The threat was communicated through a social media app called ‘SnapChat.’ Several staff, parents and students immediately shared this information with district personnel. The district contacted our School Resource Officer (SRO) who immediately got law enforcement involved.
An initial ‘Knox Alert’ was sent out at 9:25 pm – “MVCSD-We have become aware of a potential threat from a student on ‘Snap Chat’ Law enforcement is actively involved to insure the safety of all-More info coming.” Shortly after sending the initial alert we were notified that law enforcement (MVPD) did arrive at the student’s residence and ultimately he was taken into custody and was scheduled to appear before the judge today.
A second ‘Knox Alert’ was sent at 9:46 pm – “MVCSD-The student is now in the custody of law enforcement and will not be attending school. See something-hear something-say something…Thanks to all involved.”
We believed this second alert would provide a sense of relief as the student was apprehended and would pose no additional threats. We also wanted to express appreciation for those who shared information that led to such a quick resolution.
We continued to monitor concerns and shared with MVPD the concerns expressed that others may be involved. Through their investigation they believed that no one else was involved as items were confiscated and snap chat records reviewed. A decision was made late last night to provide additional law enforcement presence during the morning hours.
This has been common protocol in the past when dealing with similar concerns. In hindsight we could have and should have sent an additional ‘Knox Alert’ to notify students and parents that this was an additional step to insure the safety of all.
While we certainly understand and appreciate the concerns of students and parents, it becomes quite challenging when the rumor mill begins to churn. We do our very best to carefully evaluate and validate each and every rumor. It can be equally difficult to decide how much information we can legally share while not inducing more panic.”
(KnoxPages.com reported the story with information provided by MVPD)
“Due to the unusual circumstances surrounding this situation we had a higher than normal absentee rate today. Students who were absent today will be counted as excused for absentee purposes. We will continue to monitor this situation through the courts as well as our own disciplinary procedures. Please be assured we will always keep the safety of our students at the forefront of our conversations and decisions.”