By Taylor J. Hale

Staff Writer

District leaders worked with the Stevens Point and Plover police departments, when a social media threat caused alarm and led to a district lockout.

A concerned parent contacted Stevens Point Area Senior High School (SPASH) staff about the post. A 16-year-old student was questioned and determined not to be involved with the case. The 16-year-old student shared a threatening social media post, allegedly first authored in Wilmington, NC.

Police investigated the original local distribution point of the post, but could not find a source.

“We are not unique to the situation today,” said Detective Sergeant Brian Brooks at a news conference on Oct. 18. “From my understanding, Wilmington is fielding a lot of calls from other school districts from around the country that are dealing with the same problem, based off of this same post that keeps being recirculated.”

The original post was allegedly authored about two weeks ago and has been circulated throughout the country. The posting was first made via Snapchat.

“It has been posted again and again,” Brooks said. “Once you think something like that is dead and no longer active, it recirculates.”

The threat was not specific to any building in the district, though the questioned student attended SPASH. No charges were made.

The lockout was fully lifted at 10:15 a.m., following the investigation. Parents were updated by the district throughout the incident.