Website threat targets local schools, superintendents talk safety decisions
Local Authorities, KSP & FBI working together
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – Local authorities and the FBI are investigating an anonymous post threatening Bowling Green High School, Warren Central High School, and Allen County-Scottsville High School as well as Senators Mitch McConnell and Rand Paul.
The violent threat against students came in through a Lexington-based website Wednesday night. The message did not include a specific day or time of an attack but identified the schools by address only.
The author of the threat voiced anger and frustration in the message about the re-election of Senators Mitch McConnell and Rand Paul.
The Allen county school district closed all schools out of ‘an abundance of caution’.
Allen County Superintendent Travis Hamby said, “Following conversations with some of my board members as well, we decided the best decision for us today was to allow some time for the investigation to develop a little more and gather more information this morning about how we were going to proceed.”
WCPS and BGISD allowed students into all campus buildings but announced an increase in police presence Thursday.
BGISD Superintendent Gary Fields said, “Any time our law enforcement would tell us it’s not safe to have school, we wouldn’t have school. But, they were very comfortable that they can provide some extra resources to us today…. I have a son who’s sitting in class at Bowling Green High School. If my kid is not there, then then I wouldn’t have any kids there. But if my kid is there, then I’m comfortable that we can have school.”
WCPS Superintendent Rob Clayton added, “The reality is, we know that these types of threats can be made at any time and in some cases can come without much warning…. If we felt like the school was not the safest place for our students to be today, we certainly would have responded differently.”
Local Authorities, Kentucky State Police and the FBI are working closely with the school districts to keep safety the highest priority.
