On Thursday night, social media messages warned of a potential shooting threat at Haven Middle School on Friday, Dec. 10. After an initial investigation conducted by the Evanston Police Department, authorities dismissed the threat as not credible.
According to screenshots sent to the RoundTable, Snapchat messages warning of a Friday shooting at the Evanston middle school began to circulate among Haven students Thursday evening.
The primary message contained a large headline stating “Warning haven kids,” with a sentence below saying that “a 7th grader has been spreading rumors and telling other students to not go to school because of a school shooting happening on Friday (tomorrow) at haven middle school.”
Shortly after parents and teachers became aware of these warnings on social media, some staff members reportedly called 911 to alert Evanston Police about the threat. Just after 9 p.m. Thursday, Evanston/Skokie School District 65 Superintendent Devon Horton sent an email to Haven parents, teachers and staff members.
“Tonight we learned of a threatening message posted to social media indicating the intent to cause harm to the Haven Middle School community,” Horton wrote. “We have alerted the Evanston Police Department and an investigation and a threat assessment is currently underway. The threat was not directed towards any specific individuals but indicated the possibility of violence tomorrow, December 10.”
Horton added that Haven, at 2417 Prairie Ave., will have an enhanced police presence around the school Friday and that there are no related threats to school safety at any other district buildings. Kingsley Elementary School is adjacent to Haven.
Just after 11 p.m. Thursday, Horton sent another email to parents, teachers and staff members notifying them that a police investigation had determined there was no credible threat to Haven on Friday.
“The Evanston Police Department has conducted an assessment of the situation, including speaking to the individual involved and their family, and has made the determination that there is no credible threat or safety concern for the Haven Middle School community at this time,” Horton wrote. “It was reported that this all stemmed from a comment that was intended to be a joke in response to a planned safety drill at the school.”
Horton added that classes at Haven would go on as scheduled Friday.
This story will be updated as more information becomes available.
Students near the Oxford, MI, shooting who made jokes about shootings were arrested. Apparently, that is not happened with the student/s at Haven MS who made jokes on social media about a shooting.