A Collinsville High School student was the unknowing victim of cyberbullying last week and the subject of recycled rumors Thursday that have once again activated the Collinsville Police Department.
Sign outside Collinsville High School / Picture by Roger Starkey
A CHS student started a rumor on social media last week that another student was going to bring a gun to school Friday, Oct. 17 and “shoot the place up.” Superintendent Robert Green said. The administration immediately contacted the Collinsville Police Department, who searched the suspected student’s home and locker, as well as interviewed the student, Green said.
The police department determined that the threats were not credible and that the student did not know about the rumored threats until contacted by the police. After further investigation, a person was identified as the source of the rumor. The student, Green said, had started the rumor because he did not like the other student, who dresses in gothic style clothing.
The student who started the rumor was disciplined last week. The situation was not made public for student privacy concerns, as well as a desire to not needlessly alarm the public, Green said.
Attempts to reach the Collinsville Police Department to determine if the student faced any legal action were unsuccessful.
The rumors, however, took on another life Thursday when a parent posted on social media that a student had threatened to bring a gun to the high school Friday, Oct. 24. The rumor spread rapidly, as many social media rumors do, and soon the high school and the district were receiving numerous phone calls.
Police contacted the parent Thursday and determined the post was in reaction to the incident last week, a school spokesperson said. Although the rumors were twice dispelled, there will be extra police presence at CHS tomorrow, Green said.
“We don’t think there is any credibility to the rumor, but we don’t want to take anything for granted,” Green said.
Green, who will be at CHS tomorrow morning before school starts, said parent should not be concerned.
“If my kids were still in high school, I wouldn’t hesitate to send them tomorrow,” Green said.
