Questions about a school-shooting threat sparked a flood of worry, rumors and frustration on the Juneau Community Collective Facebook page Sunday night.
Juneau police and school administrators are investigating a possible shooting threat at Thunder Mountain High School made over the weekend.
After midnight Monday, a school district spokeswoman confirmed a threat had been made, but few details were revealed until later that morning.
Juneau School District Superintendent Mark Miller said it’s a little more complicated than that.
“A couple of students went to Juneau police this weekend and said that one of the students had made a threat about shooting, but didn’t necessarily know that it was directed at a school or at a particular person at the school,” Miller said.
He said the threat was general but it was still important to investigate. Police have increased their presence in schools in response to the threat.
“JPD has been amazing with their support. When I was down at Thunder Mountain there were three full-time peace officers down there keeping an eye on the school,” Miller said.
Officers also contacted the 17-year-old-boy who reportedly made the threats, as well as his parents.
Police said they didn’t have enough information to arrest the boy or place him in a “custodial hold.”
The student was left in the custody of his parents and told not to go to the Thunder Mountain High School or any other Juneau School District property.
Police also contacted the district attorney’s office and the Johnson Youth Center.
Miller said this is not the first time in his career he has faced a school threat and it also isn’t the first time for the Juneau School District.
“We got those electronic calls that were talking about shooters and bombs and we had multiple lockdowns on campuses all over the city for weeks on end,” Miller recalled.
Those calls were made last year and no attacks were carried out. Miller said when threats are made, securing school campuses is the first priority, and then the next step is to focus on investigating the threat.
“Principal Dan Larson is spending all day talking to students and investigating to determine what the credibility level was of the threat,” he said.
Even with the school district and the police’s reassurances, some parents decided to keep their kids home.
“With a couple of our schools it looks like a third of our kids have decided to stay home today,” Miller said.
He said he understands that decision because safety comes first.
Many parents who found out about the threat through social media expressed anger toward the district for not informing them sooner.
Miller said the weekend slowed down the district’s response. He said even he didn’t learn about the threat until late Sunday night.
“Once we were able to, from PD (police department), determine exactly what had been said, then we moved forward,” Miller said.
Police said an investigation into the threats is ongoing and it is up to parents to decide whether their children go to school.
Editor’s Note: An earlier version of this story has been expanded to include comments from the Juneau School District Superintendent Mark Miller.
