Schools, police manage string of threats after Michigan shooting

School officials urge parents, students to speak up; law enforcement warns arrests will be made
Fairfield Police presence was increased this morning at all Fairfield Schools in the wake of a threat of violence announced by school officials. Police cruisers were stationed at the 10,000-student districts schools as part of law enforcement's response. Classes are being conducted as normal while police in Fairfield and Fairfield Twp. are investigating. (Photo By Nick Graham\Journal-News)

Fairfield Police presence was increased this morning at all Fairfield Schools in the wake of a threat of violence announced by school officials. Police cruisers were stationed at the 10,000-student districts schools as part of law enforcement's response. Classes are being conducted as normal while police in Fairfield and Fairfield Twp. are investigating. (Photo By Nick Graham\Journal-News)

Threats of violence were received this week by several schools in Warren and Butler counties, and some school leaders say that’s not uncommon on the heels of an event like the Nov. 30 Oxford, Mich., school shooting.

“We’re always on a higher alert after incidents that happen elsewhere, and the police are very great to work with,” said Mike Sander, superintendent of Franklin City Schools, which had a threat this week. “There are always a lot of copycats who attempt to scare people and disrupt schools (with threats).”

Thankfully none of the local threats resulted in violence.

On Wednesday, the same day as Franklin’s threat just a few miles away, there was a lockdown at Bishop Fenwick High School. A student reported a safety concern to school administrators, who contacted Middletown police for assistance. Police Chief David Birk said the school was put into lockdown but no legitimate threat was found.

“School officials took it seriously, and thankfully, nothing happened,” Birk said.

Police and administrators interrogated the student reportedly involved in the incident, and a search of the building was conducted. School officials and police determined there was no safety concern, said Kaylene Schwab, Fenwick’s communications and marketing director.

Tom Isaacs, superintendent of the Warren County Educational Service Center, said every superintendent takes any threats of violence seriously and will investigate as well as involve law enforcement.

He said there are almost always warning signs before a violent school incident, such as unusual behavior or people making unusual statements. Isaacs also said Warren County school districts have close relationships with law enforcement, as well as a strong school safety advocate in Warren County Juvenile Court Judge Joseph Kirby to address these issues.

Laura Schnecker, juvenile court administrator, said criminal charges for active school threats have gone down in the past couple years.

In school year 2017-18, there were 20 cases filed for active school threats, and in 2018-19, there were 21 cases filed. However, cases filed dropped to 10 in 2019-20, zero cases filed in 2020-21, and only three cases so far during the 2021-22 school year.

Franklin example in-depth

On Wednesday, Franklin High School requested police assistance after a student reported seeing a social media post containing threatening remarks about a potential school shooting. Parents were notified, and police and school administrators interviewed multiple students, eventually determining there was no threat to student or staff safety.

But after notices went out to parents about the alleged threat, about 140 students went home early at their parents’ request, Sander said. And at Wednesday’s dismissal time, there was a large police presence outside the school.

Sander said police have closed the investigation due to the lack of leads.

He said when these threats occur, it takes resources away from the education process and the community to help keep students and staff safe at school.

“Unfortunately, some people want to see the emergency response and school disruption to get a free day to stay home,” Sander said.

Sander said if parents or students see or hear something that is a potential threat, they need to let schools and law enforcement know quickly.

“If you’re not sure whether to report, you should report it,” Sander said. “If you see something on social media, take a screen shot of the web page or the link and forward it to police so they can access federal resources in tracking down the threat.”

Sander said parents need to talk with their children about this if they want to solve the problem. He said schools have zero tolerance for this behavior and perpetrators will be arrested.

“People think it’s funny and kids need to think before they act because there are always intentional and unintentional consequences,” Sander said.

Butler County details

There were threats made against the Hamilton and Fairfield school districts on Thursday via social media.

The threat that forced Fairfield schools to increase police security this week didn’t come from Fairfield or even Ohio, city police said Friday.

“We are still working to determine who is responsible for the threat and why they specifically chose Fairfield,” a city police statement said. “We will continue to monitor the situation and maintain the increased level of security within the district as we move forward with our investigation.”

Fairfield school officials said classes were being conducted normally Friday — with increased security measures — as they have been previously this week.

Hamilton police investigated a social media threat against Hamilton City Schools and were able to disprove the threat’s credibility.

Additional school resource officers were moved to Hamilton High on Thursday and all students were “checked” before entering the building, city police officials said.

Hamilton Superintendent Mike Holbrook said in the last two days, the district received multiple social media posts that were considered threats. He said the threats were made outside of school hours.

“We worked with Hamilton police in tracing them and at this point, they were not credible threats,” he said.

Arrests will be made

Holbrook said parents need to talk with their children on appropriate uses of social media. He said all threats are being investigated. The district has a zero tolerance policy and he said it will pursue criminal charges as well as expel any student involved in making any threats against the district.

Warren County Chief Deputy Barry Riley said whenever there is a school violence incident, school and law enforcement officials go on high alert and begin double-checking everything they are doing to keep students and staff safe.

Riley said parents need to be involved with the children and look out for other children. He said if they see something, they need to say something to authorities. He said those who make the threats will be arrested because society demands it.

“They expect us to make arrests, especially in this area,” he said.