Three students suspended in string of threats against Blue Springs South High School
Three students have been suspended, including one who was arrested, in connection to a series of threats scrawled across bathroom walls at Blue Springs South High School over the past week.
The first message was found in the school’s bathroom Tuesday and threatened violence on Friday. Two student suspects were identified in the investigation, which wrapped up at 10:45 a.m. Saturday, said Lt. Mike Russell, with the Blue Springs School District’s department of public safety.
The second threat, which was found Thursday, was also written on a bathroom wall in the building. The student responsible was identified and arrested by the Blue Springs Police Department Thursday. All three students have been suspended.
“After an exhaustive investigation, I can confidently tell you that we have now identified the students responsible for the threatening graffiti found in the bathrooms from both days,” Principal Ryan Gettings wrote in a letter to parents on Saturday.
He said the students responsible for threats against the school will face severe consequences, including potential criminal charges.
During a news conference Saturday, Russell said the three students could face over 100 days of suspension.
The two students, who the school’s police determined left the Tuesday threat, drew illustrations of violence, including one of a gun. The student on Thursday appeared to be copying those illustrations and wrote that they were unafraid to act, Russell said.
He announced the student responsible for the most recent threat was arrested by the Blue Springs Police Department within 24 hours of being identified.
“We need to make sure that when this happens we can narrow that time frame between discovery and identification,” Russell said at the news conference.
He said more frequent bathroom checks, checks of walls and obscure areas of the school are needed.
Each of the students allegedly responsible were evaluated by a member of the school’s mental health team, said Katherine Woolf, a spokeswoman for the district.
The school plans to provide one mental health counselor for each middle and high school, who will be able to help evaluate students and threats of violence. They are in the hiring process and have brought in between three and four new counselors so far, Woolf said.
