All schools in the Molalla River School District were closed Friday, Sept. 27, as the district and the Molalla Police Department completed an investigation into alleged threats made via social media.
A social media post circulated on Wednesday that mentioned the phrase "You're next," the middle school, the dates Sept. 26-27 and contained lime green emojis in the shape of guns.
An initial investigation led to one student being detained and a decision to close school on Friday was made by the school district and Molalla Police Department as the investigation continued.
At 8 p.m. on Friday, Molalla School District Superintendent Tony Mann released a statement about what happened and when:
“Thank you for trusting us with your children. Now that investigations are completed, I have an update. As a parent and educator, I know that the threat of school violence is ever present. I am confident that closing school today with an abundance of caution was the right decision.
Here’s summary of events:
Wednesday, 9/25:
There was an incident at Molalla River Middle School (MRMS) on Wednesday morning, where a student came forward with a social media post that contained text “Your next Molalla river middle school September 26/27” and image with lime green emoji guns.”Police were notified immediately.Molalla Police Department investigated and took one MRMS student into custody.Principal Dalton sent a notice to the middle school parents before school was out on Wednesday summarizing what had occurred.
Thursday, 9/26:
A student at Molalla High School (MHS) made a report to staff at MHS.Police investigated and determined the high school student’s report was the same threat with the emoji’s from MRMS the day before. The social media post from Wednesday was still visible on social media and Molalla Police were able to get the post removed before 8:30 a.m.The District sent a notice about Wednesday’s incident at MRMS as reports were spreading to other schools. The emphasis was on: See Something/Say Something.
Thursday evening:
New social media posts with different content than the post from Wednesday were received by the middle school principal. These posts each contained text urging middle school students not to go to school on Friday due to possible school violence.A separate report came into SafeOregon.School and district administrators contacted police and learned the Molalla Police Department was also receiving reports of possible school violence via social media posts.School and district officials notified police of every threat, and by 9 p.m. determined that there were multiple new reports that would not be fully investigated by Friday morning.The district began communicating Friday’s closure with staff, parents, and the media at 9:15 p.m.
Friday, Sept. 27:
Police have investigated all the reports and are not pursuing any additional suspects.The district will reopen schools on Monday.
See Something, Say Something has been successful. Multiple reports came in from students, staff and parents and we will continue to encourage reporting. Each report will be investigated, and we will use policy, discipline and the law to maintain safe schools. Even if those reports turn out to be unfounded, and students have simply made a poor choice causing alarm, we need to emphasize: "See Something Say Something."
I sincerely appreciate the Molalla Police Department for their partnership and immediate and thorough response to our school communities. I appreciate you trusting us with your children, and I am proud of how our staff handled these reports.
If you have any questions, please contact me at 503-829-2359.
Tony Mann, Superintendent"
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