Schools

UPDATE: QO Administrators Investigated Twitter Gun Threat Tuesday

Early Tuesday morning, a student notified the Quince Orchard High School administration of a Twitter post suggesting a student might bring a gun to school.

Updated, 4:03 p.m.:  administrators investigated a Twitter claim Tuesday morning that a student might be bringing a gun to school.

However, they determined there was no credible threat, according to a letter sent home to parents Wednesday afternoon by Principal Carole Working.

The letter reads:

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I want to share with you information about a situation that affected our school yesterday and how it was handled by staff.

Early yesterday morning, May 1, a student notified us of a posting on Twitter that raised concern that someone might bring a weapon to school. Our administrative and security teams, along with our School Resource Officer, immediately began an investigation. It was determined quickly that there was no credible threat and a weapon was not brought to school.

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However, I would like to take this opportunity to remind every one of the importance of responsible behavior on social networking sites. I am thankful that members of our community feel comfortable in reporting to the school any messages that they believe may be threatening to the students and our school environment. I want to commend the student who came forward for her mature actions and her concern for the well-being of everyone at Quince Orchard High School.

Please remind your students that they are responsible for any of their postings on social networking sites and that these postings may have consequences not only at school but also in the legal system.

The student referenced from the Tweet was not in school, Working told Patch, adding that administrators believe the online interaction stemmed from a conversation that wasn't about school.

"But whenever you have anything involving a weapon, you have to take it very seriously," Working said. "I was concerned I might have more response or concern [from the QO community], but everyone seems OK."

QO student Lily Milwit told Patch most of her peers were not aware of the situation, but numerous stories circulated over the course of the day.

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"We didn't have a code blue or red, but some of the students who did hear about it said that they were scared because they weren't sure what was going on," Milwit wrote in an email.



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