Why Clay County Schools close after finding threatening note in school hallway

CLAY COUNTY, WV (WOWK) – It’s been an exhausting week for students, parents, and law enforcement after multiple threats forced schools to close in West Virginia, Kentucky and Ohio.

Many of the affected areas are smaller communities, which makes it difficult for local officials to respond to these threats. Late Thursday night, Clay County Schools closed their doors after discovering a note in a school hallway that could have posed a threat for students and faculty at schools.

According to a statement from the Clay County Schools Superintendent, “At the time the decision was made to cancel school, the threat had not yet been determined to be credible.” After further investigation, they discovered that no one was in immediate danger.

Clay County Sheriff Allen King is the father of a 5-year-old and says he gets concerned just like any other parent.

“Kids are very smart. Very smart. And I believe that they, some of these kids, and most kids are good. You know you got a few bad apples of course … they figure out that if I can call in a gun threat or a bomb threat I can get the day off school. They don’t realize the consequences to that or the repercussions to that, I mean that’s a terroristic threat,” says King.

Despite today’s closures, the school is still planning to host their home football game against Roane County, just with additional security, to keep the community feeling safe.

On Wednesday, the FBI – Pittsburgh announced they were investigating a surge of alleged threats against schools in West Virginia and in Western Pennsylvania.

People are asked to report any suspicious activities that could be a threat to 911, or contact the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI or leave an online tip .

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