Task force created in response to school threats
Sep. 14—Following a number of social media threats against school systems across the state, Gov. Jim Justice has ordered the creation of a new task force to investigate and mitigate those online threats.
Area school systems in recent days have seen an increased police presence in response to the online threats.
In Mercer County, School Superintendent Ed Toman encouraged parents and guardians to monitor their children's social media accounts while working with local law enforcement agencies that are investigating those threats.
Neighboring school systems, including across the state line in Tazewell County, also have responded to similar online threats.
Justice on Friday announced that he had directed the West Virginia Department of Homeland Security to establish a comprehensive task force in response to the uptick in school threats across the state. The Republican governor said the newly created School Safety Task Force is actively compiling and analyzing all reported school threats by county to ensure a thorough and coordinated response.
The task force will include representation from various law enforcement agencies, including the West Virginia State Police.
The governor's office said in a press release that the new task force is reaching out to each county prosecutor to identify all arrests and juvenile petitions related to school threats that have been filed. Justice said the data collection is critical to ensuring a swift and transparent legal process is in place to address the school threats.
To enhance real-time communication, a communication connect room also is being established to provide a centralized hub for all School Safety Task Force members. It will be activated in the event of a critical incident, ensuring immediate coordination and response across agencies, Justice said.
No arrests have been reported to date in connection with the Mercer County threats.
"We know of multiple incidents where these threats are being made for no other reason than to invoke fear (terrorism) in an an effort to disrupt school systems," Toman said in a statement issued by the school system last week. "However, in the times we are living in, we continue to take each threat seriously and with the utmost urgency. Please be aware that collaboration is happening between various law enforcement agencies as well as Homeland Security across not only our state, but also across the nation."
In neighboring Tazewell County, School Superintendent Dr. Chris Stacy said the same post, or very similar posts, have impacted school divisions across several counties and states over the past few days.
"As always Tazewell County Public Schools will take all threats seriously and will continue to work with our partners in law enforcement," Stacy said in the prepared statement. "Thank you to all of our town and county officers for working to keep our students, faculty, and staff safe."
— Contact Charles Owens at cowens@bdtonline.com. Follow him @BDTOwens
— Contact Charles Owens at cowens@bdtonline.com. Follow him @BDTOwens
