The rumor mill in Gresham was working overtime after the sight of multiple law enforcement vehicles in the village Feb. 27 prompted parents to pull their children out of school after erroneously believing the police presence was connected to Gresham Community School.
Superintendent Newell Haffner said in a Feb. 28 phone interview that no threat has been made against the school, and that classes have gone on without incident. He said he was first made aware of the rumors when a parent called the school office and said she was going to be taking her child out of school.
“There was a kid on their Snapchat that said something about a threat against the school,” Haffner said. “They’re tying it to activities from last night here in Gresham. There were about 10 squad cars here last night dealing with something at about 5 o’clock.”
The incident in Gresham turned out to be an incident involving someone with a gun, according to a press release issued by the Stockbridge-Munsee Police Department. A person was taken into custody, according to the release, but no other details about the incident were revealed, although officials said the community was safe.
Haffner said several other families saw the Snapchat and called the school concerned about whether it was safe to send their children there. That prompted him to post to the school’s website and to Facebook about the rumor and that it was false.
The school called in the Stockbridge-Munsee Police Department to investigate, but there was nothing to substantiate that the school was in any danger, according to Haffner.
“None of this is true,” he said.
Haffner also sent a letter home with students for parents to know what happened and that there’s no threat against the school.
“I told one parent when they called this morning that my kids were in school,” Haffner said. “That should tell you it is safe. I would not have anybody’s kids here if it wasn’t safe.”
Haffner noted that if any threats were made against the school that the police would have informed him, and then a decision would be made as to whether to cancel school as a precautionary measure.
“We came into school, assuming it was a normal day, and then all of a sudden the parent made the call,” Haffner said.
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