FBI assisting Waynesboro Police in investigating WASD school threat
The Waynesboro Police Department is getting help from the FBI in investigating a social media post that led to law enforcement suggesting Waynesboro Area School District cancel classes in all schools on Wednesday — the last day of school.
According to WASD Superintendent Dr. Tod Kline, authorities learned about a threat around 6 a.m. Wednesday. It is unclear whether the threat was made by a student at this time he said.
“The threat this morning said basically about not showing up to school and referenced a weapon," Kline said. “Right now we decided to close all the schools, that way the kids are safe, especially in lieu of the Texas shooting."
On May 24, a gunman stormed an elementary school in Ulvade, Texas, killing 19 children and two adults. The first funerals began this week as authorities there continue to piece together what happened.
A post on the WASD Facebook page said the decision to close was made "upon advice from Local Law enforcement."
The threatening posting shows a masked individual displaying a handgun advising students not to attend school, according to a Waynesboro Police news release posted on its Crimewatch page. Investigators said that the message was posted from a fictitious account and the individual responsible for the post remains unidentified.
Waynesboro Police said the FBI has been contacted and is assisting in determining the source of the threat.
"The threat came by the social media outlet Snapchat," Kline said. "We are hopeful law enforcement will be able to track this. We are absolutely going to press charges to the fullest extent of the law to whoever did this. This has put a lot of people on edge."
While school is not in session Wednesday, Kline said work is being done to maintain a sense of normality and community.
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"We have a great relationship with the Waynesboro Police Department, and when they recommend not to come in, we take that very seriously," Kline said. " It just saddens me that we live in a society that we have to do these things because of people. We're on the last hours of school, and a lot of kids will miss out on memorable experiences today because of this."
Kline said there was a fifth-grade graduation ceremony that was to occur Wednesday.
"None of them are going to happen. There were a lot of end-of-school events that were suppose to happen and that’s not going to happen now.”
WASD has a full-time police officer on its campus as well as a safety and security team that meets regularly to assess school security.
This article originally appeared on Waynesboro Record Herald: Waynesboro threat leads district to close schools Wednesday
