CASPER — Despite efforts to calm fears with a press release, Natrona County Schools and Casper Police Department officials Monday were trying to ease fears and frustrations from residents and parents about an online threat over the weekend that a student allegedly planned to kill people at noon Monday.
By Monday morning, there were more than 400 comments on Casper Police Department’s Facebook page on a post outlining the CPD and school district did a “comprehensive and thorough investigation” and determined there’s no danger.
The nature of the threat or if a specific school was targeted by the threat was not released, only that it allegedly involved something that may happen Monday.
A screenshot of the online threat obtained by Cowboy State Daily, posted anonymously to a social media group, says that a particular student “is threatening multiple people and children’s lives on September 30th at 12.”
The post says the police had been notified and schools contacted.
It also goes on to say that the student allegedly has “threaten kids with a weapon in person and has threatened to end another child’s life.”
After investigating and contacted those involved, “there is no known ongoing threat to our schools and community,” the CPD says in a joint statement with the school district.
That’s not good enough for some parents and Casper residents, who say they deserve more information and believe school officials are trying to downplay the nature of the threat.
Some of that stems from a letter sent to parents Saturday that give few details but plays up the response of “multiple agencies with unwavering urgency, specificity and the utmost commitment.”
Crystal Hoffman told Cowboy State Daily on Monday she never got the letter.
Her daughter is a sophomore at Natrona County High School and was kept home from school Monday out of a sense of caution, Hoffman said.
She said her daughter saw the threat on a school SnapChat group Friday, and that she understands that the threat was made by a student Friday was directed at Natrona County High School.
“I told her we would just see how the district and police were going to handle it before I made a decision about her going to school today,” Hoffman said. “After seeing how they handled it. I decided I didn’t feel safe with her going.
“She was way too freaked out to go, and honestly I can’t blame her.”
Hoffman said she learned about the letter on the police department’s Facebook page, even though she’s on the school district’s mailing list and gets “plenty of emails from the school district.”
“I didn’t see the Facebook post until Sunday,” she said, adding she’s still weighing whether to send her daughter Tuesday or the rest of the week.
Parental Concerns
A sampling of comments on the Casper Police Department’s Facebook post show Hoffman isn’t alone in her skepticism about the threat.
Other parents also said they may keep their students out of school and that they have a general distrust in the school district and police.
“It's incredibly alarming that both the school district and law enforcement are dismissing direct threats as ‘rumors,’ leaving parents to find out through social media while those responsible for protecting our children stay silent or downplay the seriousness. This is not just irresponsible, it's dangerous and unacceptable,” Casper resident Tori Feronti wrote. “The police department's decision to brush off these credible concerns is a clear dereliction of duty, and NCSD's lack of communication only makes it worse.
“Parents deserve to be informed and heard. The safety of our children should be your top priority, not an afterthought.”
Tiffani Atkinson, who said she’s also a parent, wrote: “My children will not be attending school for most of next week. This is out of control, until we as a community can know comfortably that our children will be safe I don’t feel anyone of us should have to send our children.”
Casper resident Dianne Marshall commented that there is a “lot of fear, angst, misinformation and concern around this ongoing issue.”
And Casper resident Butch Edwards wrote that “it would be great if the Natrona County School District notified the teachers in the district about this instead of finding out about it on Facebook.”
Investigating For Days
Natrona County School District reports in a Monday afternoon press release that “officials have verified no substantiated threat to school safety based on the reports received.”
Officials have been “actively and continuously investigating these high-priority reports for several days,” according to the press release. There also will be an increased police presence in Casper schools “to alleviate concerns and support our community.”
Natrona County School District Board of Education Treasurer Thomas Myler told Cowboy State Daily he had not heard from parents over the weekend, but had been receiving updates from the district about the concerns.
“I know the school district’s top priority is safety,” he said. “They are always on top of, one, making sure the information is accurate and two, that students and staff are safe.”
The threat follows ongoing concerns related to young people being violent with weapons, including two murders earlier this year committed outside of school but all involving Natrona County School District students.
Dale Killingbeck can be reached at dale@cowboystatedaily.com.
