Seward Police briefly investigated what Police Chief Alan Baldwin called a “reported incident” at Seward Middle School on April 17.
“This morning, the Seward Police Department was contacted by a concerned parent about a potential threat at Seward Middle School,” Baldwin said April 17.
He said the parent had obtained information from social media about an incident that occurred on April 16.
In a post on the Seward (Nebraska) Community Chat Facebook page dated April 16, a user asked if anyone knew what happened at the middle school that morning.
Other users commented that their students told them another student had said he was going to “shoot up” a class at the middle school.
The post has since been removed from the page.
Baldwin said an officer responded to the school to visit with administrators.
“The officer concluded there is no threat to the school or students,” Baldwin said. “The situation will be handled by school administrators.”
He said SPD would take no further action on the incident.
On April 18, Seward School District Superintendent Dr. Josh Fields said a student had reported a possible threat to administrators on April 16.
“After our administration investigated it, there was never any threat to students or staff or anybody,” Fields said.
Fields attributed the spread of misinformation to social media.
“That’s always a tough piece with social media, and you can’t stop it,” Fields said.
The district sent a statement to all middle school parents April 17 through a Bluejay Alert email.
“Social media was filled with statements about an incident that happened yesterday at the middle school with many inaccuracies in that public forum,” the statement said. “At the middle school we received information about a potential threat which we investigated thoroughly along with the Seward Police Department. Our investigation determined there was no danger to anyone in the building and no weapon was ever mentioned in the reporting process. I hope this clarifies some of the rumors expressed on social media.”
Privacy policies prevented Fields from confirming whether the student who made the alleged threat was removed from school. He said the district followed its code of conduct and procedures for disciplinary action.
Fields encouraged those with questions or concerns about incidents like this to call the school.
He said the district works closely with police and the sheriff’s department to make sure situations are handled appropriately.
