GEORGETOWN, Ohio – Three area schools had incidents involving threats and rumors of threats on Wednesday and Thursday.
A letter was sent to parents from Mason County Middle School Principal Justin Moore on Thursday, regarding an incident at the school on Wednesday.
“Mason County Middle School, the Mason County Sheriff’s Department and the Maysville Police Department want to inform you that we received information about a possible threat to our school’s safety on Feb. 21, 2018,” the letter read. “Sadly, this type of action is a growing epidemic around the state and the nation and cannot be taken lightly.”
Moore said that the threat was dealt with, with the utmost importance and sense of urgency.
According to Moore, the information was immediately relayed to Mason County Sheriff Patrick Boggs to determine its authenticity. Law enforcement concluded that the issue posed no immediate threat but warranted further investigation by law enforcement.
“At the time, the (Mason County) Sheriff’s Department, Maysville Police Department and school administration took steps to ensure the safety of our students,” Moore said.
In the letter, Moore went on to encourage parents, students and community members to continue to reach out to the school and law enforcement when issues arrive.
“Everyone has the same goal in that we want a safe environment for all students,” Moore said. “However, it is only through continued efforts from everyone that we will be able to maintain this.”
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According to a spokesperson for the Augusta Independent School via social media, a student made threatening comments to another student on Thursday.
“It was reported immediately to the school principal and a full investigation was conducted to ensure the safety of the students and staff,” the post read.
According to school administration, disciplinary action was taken and the school reported the incident to local law enforcement.
“The district takes every threat seriously and protecting the safety of students and staff will always be our priority,” the post read.
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On Wednesday, reports circulated on social media advising that there was an active shooter at Eastern Brown High School in Brown County, Ohio.
According to the Brown County Sheriff’s Office, the reports were false and spawned multiple other reports including that there would be an active shooter at the school.
“All of these reports have been investigated and determined to be false,” said Brown County Sheriff Gordon Ellis. “There are no credible threats towards students in Eastern Local Brown School District or any other district in Brown County.”
Eastern Brown took to social media around noon Wednesday to reassure parents there was no threat.
“Attention all Eastern residents – information recently posted on Facebook is incorrect/inaccurate,” the post read. “Eastern Local Schools ARE NOT in lockdown and there is no active shooter situation. Thank you for the inquiries so please forward the corrected information on your local social media feeds.”
According to the sheriff, his office has investigated other unfounded tips and will continue to investigate any threats of violence affecting the county with local police departments, the Ohio Attorney General’s Office and the Federal Bureau of Investigations.
These situations come off the back of a deadly shooting in Florida in which 17 people were killed, 14 of which were students.
Other incidents in the area this week have included an air rifle and knife being brought to Robertson County High School in Mount Olivet as well as West Union High School and North Adams Elementary and High schools in Adams County, Ohio, being put in lockdown due to potential threats. No one was in any danger during any of these incidents, according to officials.
Anyone with information about a potential threat is encouraged to contact local law enforcement immediately.
In 2015 Augusta Independent School will get a variety of upgrades, including improvements to the original front door area of the building.
A letter to MCMS parents from Principal Justin Moore stated that the situation was handled properly and immediately.
