School threats reach Central Virginia, with multiple districts targeted

The messages started popping up Wednesday across social media. One targeted Prince Edward County Public Schools. Another threatened schools in Cumberland County. The same happened in Buckingham. As students wrapped up their day in class, officials in multiple counties made decisions about how to respond to these school threats.

“We were made aware of a social media message that someone made a possible threat to our schools, as well as a couple of other schools in our area,” said Cumberland Schools Superintendent Chip Jones. “We have been in contact with Sheriff Hodges and made him aware of this posting.”

The same was true in Buckingham and Prince Edward counties, where law enforcement agencies were notified of and given all the information about these messages. All three districts sent out notices to parents, informing them of the threats and that law enforcement had been called.

The situations were identical to some that took place one day earlier. Schools in Frederick County, Virginia closed on Wednesday, Sept. 11 after getting similar social media threats. In that case, the Frederick County Sheriff’s Office says their investigation has found the messages may have originated outside of Virginia.

Also this week, schools in West Virginia, Kentucky, Texas, Colorado and Pennsylvania were targeted through social media messages. The Herald reached out to the FBI’s Richmond office, but had not heard back as of this morning. The FBI has not issued a statement about the posts, either here in Central Virginia or those in other states.

School threats not meant for Virginia

Also, it appears that in some cases, residents panicked about messages not intended for this area. For example, people in Charlotte and Mecklenburg counties got upset over posts that mentioned “Mecklenburg schools” or “Charlotte schools”. However, the Charlotte County sheriff’s deputies found those school threats were made in reference to North Carolina, not Virginia.

“Investigators immediately investigated the potential threat and have determined that the actual threat took place in the Charlotte/Mecklenburg N.C. area,” the Charlotte County, Virginia sheriff’s office said in a statement.

What about today’s classes?

So what happens now? Well, kids and teachers head back to school, but only if they want to. In Buckingham, Cumberland and Prince Edward counties, school will take place on a regular schedule today. However, all three districts will have an increased presence from sheriff’s deputies.

Also, each district is leaving it up to parents in regards to who shows up. A number of Buckingham parents told The Herald they would be keeping kids at home today just to be safe. In Cumberland, Jones said in a message to parents that he understands if people want to keep kids home. As a result, all absences in Cumberland for today will be excused. As of 5 a.m., all three districts also plan to hold afterschool activities as scheduled. That goes for sports and clubs.

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