Administrators at Lowry High School received a report from a student Thursday that another student was in possession of a box of bullets on campus. After investigating the claim, it was determined that the item in question was actually a box of magic cards, Superintendent Dave Jensen said Friday.
The event occurred around 2:30 p.m., but the school district didn't make a statement about the report until after 9 p.m. Thursday. Jensen said the district made a Facebook post in response to rumors on social media. The first post was an attempt to squelch rumors, Jensen said.
"I thought it would be more of an issue to send out phone messages," he said. "I sent out a message that there was no validity to the report and would update when additional information came in."
Jensen said it was the rumors, not the incident itself, which prompted the post.
Because he was in Las Vegas at the time, Jensen said he did not even hear about the situation until 8 p.m. Thursday when administrators contacted him over concern for rumors that were spreading. He said he did not provide additional details at that time because he wanted to make sure he obtained correct information from the administrators who were involved.
"At the time we posted (Thursday) night I was still trying to get all the info," he said. "The last thing we want is to post inaccurate details."
Friday morning, a second post was put on the district's Facebook page that included details of the reported threat and stated "the concern was not able to be substantiated." A robo-call to parents followed shortly after with the same message.
Jensen said a thorough investigation was conducted and it was determined that there was no evidence of a threat to students or staff. Still, Jensen said, the district takes every threat seriously and he believes the administration handled the situation properly.
"I am happy with the way it was handled," he said. "It was immediately investigated; they did exactly what they should have done."
Jensen said there is no specific protocol for how a perceived threat situation is handled; they are taken on a case-by-case basis. Each incident has to be treated differently, he said, and it is important that administrators and the district maintain students' rights as well. If administrators had found bullets it would have been turned over to law enforcement, he said.
"Thank heavens it was not true, but unfortunately it caused concern," he said. "As a parent myself I completely respect parents' decision if they decide to keep their student home (on Friday)."[[In-content Ad]]
