CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) — Parents in Chesterfield County are on edge after two threats were made against two different schools within 48 hours.
A threat posted on social media against Thomas Dale High School in the Chester area on Friday prompted an increased presence from the Chesterfield County Police Department at the school.
Police arrived at the school early Friday to investigate, after which the threat was deemed “non-credible.”
A department spokesperson told 8News a report was received that a student would have a firearm at school that day, but the student didn’t show and no weapon was found during a search of the school.
A Chesterfield County parent, who wished to be identified by her just first name, “Wendy,” said she has two children who attend Thomas Dale High School and was scared about the situation.
“It makes you wonder, what are we sending our kids off to every day?” she said.
According to a message shared with families by the school’s principal, a “social media post that referenced possible harm to [the] school” was reported by school administrators in the morning on Friday, Feb 16.
The principal said the school would have an increased police presence for the remainder of the day “to ensure the safety and comfort of students and staff.”
However, for Wendy, this message came later in the day, and she wished communication from the school would have come sooner.
“It’s really frustrating when we’re always left in the dark, when we’re finding out about things from our kids that we should be finding out from our administration — or from even Chesterfield County for that matter,” she said.
This incident at Thomas Dale High School follows another incident at Spring Run Elementary School 24 hours earlier.
According to police, two juveniles from another Virginia locality threatened to bomb Spring Run Elementary School during an online chat. This chat room included two Spring Run Elementary students.
The morning of Thursday, Feb. 15, police were dispatched to the school to investigate the threat. According to police, this was done before school opened. The investigation found that the threat was not credible.
Cliff Lent, president of emergency management consulting firm M7 solutions, said that while these kinds of threats are becoming common, they should still be taken seriously.
“If you see something suspicious, if you hear threatening behavior, absolutely continue to report it,” Lent said. “Because that’s going to be what helps the school [and] the police department get out in front of a potential attack and stop it before it occurs.”
