<body><div><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=0O2gyz_0viRwZc600" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=0O2gyz_0viRwZc600" width="1500" height="844" >QUINCY, Ill. (KHQA) — Quincy High School Principal Jody Steinke sent a message to QHS staff, students and families regarding the social media threat.The message reads below:<blockquote>This morning, we received word of an online threat to Quincy High School. The student who saw the threat on Snapchat did not know the person or account who posted the threat. The threat read as follows: “Y’all I’m finna shoot up quincy senior high t.” After much investigating, the QPD determined that a local resident’s profile, first created in 2020, had been used to send the threat. The QPD interviewed this person and determined that they had no knowledge of the threat and had not used Snapchat in a long time. Ultimately, the investigation revealed that the post originated outside of Quincy.Early on in this process, we put QHS into secure mode (nobody allowed to enter the building, otherwise business as normal) and informed staff, students, and families of the threat. Baldwin followed soon after due to its proximity to QHS. Following that announcement, hundreds of parents attempted to call QHS at the same time to have their students excused from school. Our phone system was not able to manage this many calls at the same time. We did adapt and came up with a process to get students excused as efficiently as possible.The secure mode was lifted at approximately 1:30 PM following the investigation.The evidence suggests that this was a hoax or a swatting attempt. Both have happened recently in our area and across the country.Rumors have been flying on social media all day.1.There was a rumor that two students had been detained for making the threat. This is absolutely not true.2.There was a rumor that students had been arrested on campus with knives. This is absolutely not true.3.There was a rumor that students had been arrested on campus with guns. This is absolutely not true.4.There was a rumor that four students were driving around Quincy with a bag of guns. We have no evidence that this was true.5.The most recent rumor is that today was not the real event and that tomorrow is the real threat. Again, we have no evidence that this is true. Based on all of the information that we have, we have no reason to be concerned about the safety of our students tomorrow.We are steadfast in our mission to keep our students and staff safe, and we will always err on the side of caution. Social media posts and online rumors, however, make this task infinitely more challenging. If there is a credible threat, we will take immediate action to ensure the safety of the campus, and then we will inform families. We would ask that our students and families help us with this process by being mindful that social media is not the most accurate source of information. Our promise to you as parents and families is that we will do everything in our power to keep our students safe.</blockquote></div></body>

Mountain View, CA

NewsBreak

Quincy schools respond to false rumors and social media threats

QUINCY, Ill. (KHQA) — Quincy High School Principal Jody Steinke sent a message to QHS staff, students and families regarding the social media threat. This morning, we received word of an online threat to Quincy High School. The student who saw the threat on Snapchat did not know the person or account who posted the threat. The threat read as follows: “Y’all I’m finna shoot up quincy senior high t.” After much investigating, the QPD determined that a local resident’s profile, first created in 2020, had been used to send the threat. The QPD interviewed this person and determined that they had no knowledge of the threat and had not used Snapchat in a long time. Ultimately, the investigation revealed that the post originated outside of Quincy.