Police, Educators: Talk To Your Children About School Threats

OAK CREEK, WI — After a rash of social media-based school threats that have been reported in the area - and particularly in Oak Creek - just days after the tragic Parkland School shooting, Oak Creek Police and the Oak Creek-Franklin Joint School District are urging parents to talk with their children.

According to a statement released Friday morning, officials said that "What once may have been intended as a "joke" or an expression of frustration, or simply passing along a Snapchat, must be taken exceptionally seriously, perhaps more than ever before."

Officials in Oak Creek said that each of the district's middle schools has worked through verbal threats of various kinds.

Related Reading: 3 School Threats in Oak Creek In Last Week

"All threats were immediately investigated with the Oak Creek Police Department and appropriate disciplinary and legal steps have been taken based on the results of the investigation and thorough assessments," the joint statement reads in part.

Tim Culver Superintendent of the Oak Creek-Franklin Joint School District and Steven Anderson, Chief of Police at the Oak Creek Police Department said that students who are caught issuing threats could be arrested and charged as an adult.

Officials are asking parents to have a conversation with their children about the seriousness of their conduct on social media and to avoid making any type of violence-related comments. "Making a threat in a school will result in a suspension and potentially expulsion as a school consequence."

Parents are also urged to make sure that their children know to inform the nearest trusted adult if they ever see anything or hear anything that's they think is inappropriate.

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