Social media threats close schools in Longview, Eugene

LONGVIEW, Wash. (KOIN) — A string of social media threats made against schools in southwest Washington and Oregon kept students home and led to the arrest of one teen.

In Longview, police did not confirm what school the teen was targeting or what charges he will face, but the district said they are bolstering security even with the teen in custody.

The district immediately contacted police after several threats were posted on social media over the weekend. In a safety update to families on Sunday, District Superintendent Karen Cloninger said, in part:

“Longview police initiated an investigation into each threat and one youth has been arrested in connection to the investigation. Out of an abundance of caution, on Monday of this week Longview police officers and/or additional school staff members will be present at the schools where the threats were focused.”

KOIN 6 News reached out to both the Longview police and the superintendent for an interview, but no one was available by the time of this story.

More than 150 miles away, a Eugene middle school was closed after a threat was posted via Snapchat. Eugene police said they’re working to find the origin of that threat.

District Communication Director Kelly McIver said the post was unclear as to which school was the target, but officials closed Monroe Middle School in Benton County, forcing more than 350 students to stay home.

“When law enforcement can’t quickly determine if a threat is credible or not, and if it seems like it could potentially be credible, student safety just has to be our top concern,” McIver said.

No details about the threat are currently available, but officials said an investigation is ongoing.

The announcement follows several announcements in other parts of Oregon that schools had faced similar threats tied to Friday the 13th. These closures impacted school districts in Sweet Home and Greater Albany Public School districts in Oregon, as well as Fort Vancouver and Mountain View High Schools in Washington.

It is unclear if the Monday threat had any ties to the previous threats to other schools in Oregon.

Stay with KOIN 6 News as this story develops.

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