Troy Athens Takes Threat Against Students 'Very Seriously'

Police made their presence known at Troy Athens High School Friday after a student allegedly made threats against several students.

In a letter to parents Friday, Kerry Birmingham, communications director for the district, said the student who allegedly made the threats won’t be back in school until the investigation is complete.

The school district did not disclose the exact nature of the threats, which the district became aware of on Thursday night, according to Birmingham’s letter.

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“We take any and all threats very seriously and are proud of the student(s) who brought this to the attention of authorities,” Birmingham wrote. “In all cases like this we work collaboratively with police and are grateful that this collaborative relationship led to the quick handling of this matter.”

Troy Police Sergeant Meghan Lehman told The Oakland Press the student and the student’s parents are cooperating with authorities, and there is no evidence that the threats were legitimate.

Recent school shootings — including one in which a gunman opened fire in Oregon’s Umpqua Community College classroom, killing nine people and wounding seven others before killing himself, and another Thursday at Northern Arizona University in which four people were shot, killing one after a fight — have area school officials on high alert.

After the Oregon shooting, officials at Oakland Community College doubled security efforts at its campuses.

“You never know when there is a copycat situation that might show up again as well,” the college’s public safety director, Terry McCauley, told The Oakland Press.