HARRISBURG, Pa. — In less than a week, threats against schools circulating on social media forced the closure of two Central Pa. school districts and an investigation at a third.
A message on the social media app Snapchat was reported Thursday night to Susquehanna Township School District in Dauphin County. The message indicated there would be a shooting at a school, according to a statement jointly released by the district and the Susquehanna Township Police Department.
The same night students at Solanco School District in Lancaster County also reported an online threat posted on Snapchat.
Both school districts closed all district buildings Friday and moved to remote learning.
Mechanicsburg Area School District dealt with its own threat on Dec. 6, when district officials announced they had identified individuals allegedly involved in threats made against the middle school and removed them from school. Those individuals will not return to school until an investigation is completed, officials said.
“It’s nothing abnormal to them. It’s normal. And it’s sad that they have to live that way,” said Sara Shaffer, mom to two students in the Mechanicsburg district.
All three districts found no immediate danger in their investigations, and Susquehanna and Solanco districts announced they will reopen this coming Monday.
The online threats come as last week’s shooting at Oxford High School in Michigan remains fresh on the public’s conscious. Officials there are facing criticism they didn’t respond earlier to warning signs.
“You can’t take the chance because what would happen if it actually happened is way worse than taking someone out of school for the day,” said Charles Painter of Arizona.
Parents also worry overreacting to every social media threat could come with its own dangers.
“It’s hard to decide. It’s like what do you do? You want the best for your kids but at the same time you want them to go to school because they need the interaction with other kids. They need the education. They’re not getting any of that virtually,” Shaffer said.