Several central Virginia school districts impacted by threats

CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) — Several school districts in central Virginia have been impacted by reported threats of violence this week.

On Sept. 6, class was canceled at Manchester Middle School in Chesterfield County after a threat to “shoot up” the school was posted online.

On Sept. 9, a 14-year-old boy who attends Meadowbrook High School in Chesterfield texted an adult saying he’d made a bomb. He sent the adult a photo of what appeared to be a bomb, then added that the device was fake. The adult contacted school officials, who then contacted police.

A 13-year-old student at Salem Church Middle School in Chesterfield was charged with a felony after police said he posted on social media threatening a shooting at the school. On Tuesday, Sept. 10, the Chesterfield County Police Department received reports of social media posts threatening a shooting at “Salem” the following day.

On Friday, Sept. 13, Greensville County Public Schools closed after school district officials were notified of a threat posted on social media that referenced schools in Greensville.

Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney gave his thoughts after the police department investigated a possible firearm threat at River City Middle School on Sept. 11.

“It’s unfortunate, but there are several incidents throughout our country where this has actually occurred,” Stoney said.

The parent of a River City Middle School student expressed her concerns, saying it’s hard to gauge how these incidents keep happening.

“It leaves a lot of parents on edge to receive what text that they’re going into lock and teach,” she said. “Some parents might want to text, ‘Hey, is everything okay?’ We just want that comfort to know that they’re okay.”

Dana Schrad, Executive Director of the Virginia Association of Chiefs of Police, broke down how police handle these circumstances.

“Law enforcement monitors social media,” Schrad said. “They monitor any kind of calls that might come into the agency or to the school that might be concerned that there’d be an individual who they think is posing a threat to the school safety. So that’s a constant observation by law enforcement and by the schools.”

Schrad said students need to understand these types of incidents can have serious consequences in the present—and affect their future.

“There may be something on your record that would prevent you from getting a job in a secure type of profession, like law enforcement,” Schrad said. “If you want to pursue that, and that’s the kind of thing that we must look carefully at people who in their past have had this kind of behavior.”

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