School year kicks off with wave of threats, reports of bullying

GREENFIELD, Ind. – Since the semester started just a few weeks ago, threats of shootings and reports of bullying have been circulating through school districts statewide.

Greenfield police said they’ve had around five threats so far this year.

Deputy Chief Chuck McMichael said their most recent threat arose last Wednesday. However, it was originally posted at the beginning of the school year.

“We found out about that one in particular the night before it was supposed to have happened,” he said.

“So this had been circulating through the school for three weeks before a parent saw it and got concerned.”

McMichael said this kind of delay in reporting can really put an investigation in jeopardy.

He added that reposting these messages can cause panic in the community.

“If you post it, you can be held just as liable as the person that created it,” said McMichael.

Instead of sharing it, the police want you to report it.

So far, their department has not made any arrests for the threats this year.

McMichael said that even with additional officers at the school, 25% of students didn’t attend the day after last week’s threat.

“The more we share it, the more people that are placed in fear,” he said.

“Ultimately, that’s the majority of the time, that’s what these folks want. They want that chaos, that disruption in the school.”

Whether it be threats of a school shooting or bullying, McMichael said he believes social media can often cause more harm than good when it comes to students’ mental health.

“They’ve got sports schedules and extracurricular activities, all these things add to their stress and anxiety levels and when we start throwing stuff like this in there that just makes that so much worse,” he said.

So far, across Indiana, more than 20 arrests have been made for school threats. These include two students being arrested in Marion , a student being arrested in Anderson , and several students being arrested in Indianapolis.

In addition to threats, one student at Perry Meridian High School was also arrested for violently assaulting a fellow student.

While most of the school threats have been unfounded, the dramatic increase to start the school year has been seen not only at school districts across the Hoosier state but in schools across the entire nation.

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