ST. LOUIS — The number of threats of violence against area schools has risen to the dozens as school safety concerns spike nationwide, local and federal law enforcement officials said Friday.
Between July 1 and Tuesday, 102 school shooting threats were reported to the state Highway Patrol’s . It took all of last year to get to that number, according to data provided by the U.S. Attorney’s Office. There were also 14 “planned school attacks” warranting law enforcement action within the same period, compared to 10 all of last year.
“In addition to the drain on resources, these threats are often traumatizing the students, families and school staff, and they have to stop now,” said Florissant Police Chief Timothy Fagan. Fagan is also the chairman of the 50ȻƵ Area Police Chiefs Association.
People are also reading…
Fagan and 14 of the area’s top law enforcement held a rare news conference Friday to address the growing number of threats. They warned that people who think it’s funny to post them against schools or other people would face arrest.
“Hoax threats are not a joke,” Special Agent in Charge Ashley Johnson of the FBI 50ȻƵ Division said. “Don’t think you can hide. We will find you and you will be held accountable.”
Over the past week, 50ȻƵ-area schools have locked down, switched to virtual learning, or temporarily closed as a result of threats of violence. Nearly all threats were posted to social media by minors. Only one was deemed credible.
The surge in threats follows a Sept. 4 shooting at a Winder, Georgia, high school, where a 14-year-old student killed four people.
Johnson said there’s often a spike in threats after school shootings. The same happened in 50ȻƵ after a 19-year-old gunman fatally shot a Central Visual and Performing Arts student and teacher in October 2022, he said.
Checking on such threats drains law enforcement resources, disrupts schools and frightens students, police said.
“They’re threats, but they don’t have the means to carry them out,” St. Ann police Chief Aaron Jimenez said in an interview. “They think this is funny.”
In 50ȻƵ County, six juveniles have been referred to the juvenile court systems for making terrorist threats this month, with four referrals coming from the Florissant Police Department alone, according to Fagan. However, the number of juveniles charged or referred is unclear, as juvenile court records in Missouri are generally confidential.
Jimenez said three juveniles have been charged for making shooting threats on social media to Ritenour High School.
The first, a 15-year-old, was charged with peace disturbance after a threat made on Sept. 6. On Sept. 11, a 16-year-old was charged with making a terrorist threat in the second degree.
Another teen, a 16-year-old, may be charged as an adult after police thwarted his shooting threat outside of Ritenour’s Husky Academy on Tuesday. Police said they found him in Husky’s parking lot with a loaded Glock and caught him a block away after a foot chase. The former student’s parents, Traci and Terry Thompson, have also been charged. Each faces one count of tampering with physical evidence in a felony prosecution.
Jimenez said the latter teen may be charged as an adult, but the U.S. Attorney’s Office is still reviewing the case. Investigators are also still trying to determine where the teen got his gun.
Law enforcement officials asked parents not to re-post the threats they may see online and instead inform authorities.
“We want parents and caregivers to talk to their kids,” Fagan said. “We want them to explain the seriousness of the school threat and the seriousness of the consequences that result from that.”
Overall, at least 30 50ȻƵ-area schools have received threats. A non-exhaustive list includes: