Juvenile in custody after social media threat to a Lee’s Summit middle school

A student is in custody after a threatening message was posted on social media referencing a Lee’s Summit middle school, police and school officials said.

The Lee’s Summit Police Department was made aware Monday of a threatening post on TikTok, which included a detailed threat toward East Trails Middle School, police said in a news release.

After an investigation by Lee’s Summit police, the FBI and school district, officers identified a juvenile suspect in the case. The juvenile was taken into custody, police said. The student was not in school Tuesday, according to an email sent to district parents and staff.

“ We wanted to make sure you are aware of the situation and let you know it is safe to send your child to school — again, the individual that made the post will not be at school,” the email said.

The threat made referencing East Trails Middle School is a separate incident from a vague social media threat made to other KC-area schools, Lee’s Summit R7 Superintendent said in an email to staff and families.

Legal, disciplinary consequences for school threats

East Trails Middle School Principal Whitney Morehead said in an email that the threats disrupt learning environments and consume staff resources. Morehead asked parents to remind students that making threats against a school, even as a joke, has legal and disciplinary consequences.

Morehead said the school is following school policy and processing the incident with the help of police. She said the incident reinforces the importance of people reporting anything suspicious to school staff and police.

“We will continue to encourage an environment where students, staff, and families feel empowered to report anything that might be suspicious or out of the ordinary; prompt reporting is important in enabling us to be proactive in maintaining a safe school environment,” Morehead said in an email to staff and families. “We’re grateful to the students and parents who exhibited this quick thinking this week.”

The Lee’s Summit Police department said the investigation is ongoing.

“The Police Department is thankful for the assistance given by our partners with the FBI as well as our partnership with the R-7 School District to work quickly to identify and arrest a suspect in the case and keep our schools safe and free from violence,” LSPD said in a statement.