East Penn School District: EHS Threat Announcement 12/17-Updated

Emmaus PA

17 December, 2021

3:08 PM

Description

Press release from East Penn School District: December 17, 2021 East Penn School District / District News / EHS Threat Announcement 12/17-Updated Dear Parents/Guardians, Yesterday, the East Penn School District was made aware of a series of troubling posts that were being shared across the country this week on the social media platform TikTok. The posts referred to a threat to school safety "for every school in the USA" on Friday, December 17, 2021. This morning, a large volume of messages began to circulate on social media and amongst students. Some of these messages contained threats that were specific to Emmaus High School. The administrative team, in cooperation with the Emmaus Police Department, immediately began investigating the messages and decided to initiate a precautionary lockdown at EHS at approximately 10:15 AM. These messages continued to be shared throughout the lockdown and were specific enough in nature that we decided it was necessary to initiate a staged dismissal of our school building. Teams of administrators and Emmaus Police Department officers secured the hallways and dismissed students in groups, escorting them to exits and bus transportation. We want to thank our students, who were incredibly cooperative and patient throughout this process, as well as our faculty and staff who supported students throughout the lockdown. In order to continue to keep our campus secure as the police continue their investigation, all EHS after school activities and practices will be cancelled today. We have made the decision to have tonight's EHS vs. Dieruff basketball games. At this time, only participating student athletes, students and staff affiliated with the game and approved media stations will be in attendance. Our gymnasium will be secured by local law enforcement and all approved attendees will be searched by school administrators before entering the gym. The game will be live streamed on our Athletic Department YouTube channel. We will cooperate fully with the Emmaus Police Department and other law enforcement authorities over the weekend as they investigate the source of these troubling messages and hold those responsible for them accountable. We will also provide an update to our school community as soon as more information becomes available.  Sincerely,​​​​​​​Kristen Campbell, Ed.D.Superintendent of Schools Good morning parents. Thank you for your patience. As you know, we have been in a precautionary lockdown at Emmaus High School since 10:15 this morning. The Emmaus Police Department is on site with us, and together, we have decided to dismiss school early to ensure student safety. We are dismissing in stages – teams of administrators and police officers are dismissing classrooms one area at a time and escorting students to buses and/or parking lots. Students will be arriving home over the next hour. Thank you for your support. As you may be aware, multiple messages have been circulating over the past 24 hours which contain threats to schools across the country. Due to a large volume of messages that are circulating on social media and being shared amongst students this morning, we have placed the building in lockdown as a precautionary measure while Emmaus Police Department is on site to provide assistance. Again, the lockdown is being conducted as a precautionary measure. We will communicate further information to you as soon as possible. This press release was produced by East Penn School District. The views expressed here are the author's own.