Haines School officials say they’ve identified the person who wrote a school shooting threat on a bathroom stall wall earlier this week, and say there is no active threat to the students.
The school made the announcement in an email to parents sent at 2:45 p.m. on Friday.
“There is a plan in place moving forward and we feel confident in the safety of our schools. To the extent that we can, we will address any concerns you may have,” the email said.
Haines School superintendent Roy Getchell declined to release details about how the person was identified. He said the last few days had been hard on students and staff. He estimated just 20-25% of students attended school on Thursday, Oct. 19, after the discovery of graffiti with the words “school shooting on 10/19” was discovered.
“It was disruptive to the learning process, and psychologically, it shook a lot of folks. It’s been a tough week in that regard,” said Getchell.
Getchell declined to speak about who the individual was, but according to the email, “Appropriate actions are being taken to address the situation with a balance of accountability as well as supportive measures that follow school district policy and other applicable law.”
Getchell thanked community members for the help.
“We’ve had so much cooperation from students, parents, staff, and the borough police department,” he said. “I can’t thank them enough.”
Haines Police could not immediately be reached for comment.
Getchell said the school is preparing a survey for parents about the incident. He also said the school would be developing its protocols for using the new buzz-in front door system beginning this weekend.