Social media posts about threats at schools are not credible, says an email from Columbia Public Schools to parents

COLUMBIA, Missouri (KMIZ

Recent social media posts suggesting possible threats to Columbia schools are not credible, the school district wrote in an email to parents Thursday evening.

On Thursday evening, rumors spread about possible threats to some school campuses in Columbia.

“We are asking for your help and support. In recent days, we have dealt with several incidents related to social media posts that contained threatening messages. These posts were identified as not be credible threats. These incidents cause stress for our students, families, and staff. They also disrupt our learning environments,” the email said. “We are always grateful to our administrators and law enforcement who work to quickly investigate each of these incidents and are grateful when they are found not to be credible. We are also grateful when incidents are reported directly to the district, school, or local law enforcement.”

The email states that if parents see such posts, they should report them to school administrators and police. The email asks parents not to repost these posts on their own social media accounts.

“We are asking for your help. Please help us stop the spread of rumors. If you see a threat on social media, please do not forward or repost it. Instead, take a screenshot and share it with school administration and police. Sharing the post makes it harder to find out who started it and slows down investigations. If a post is found to be not credible, its continued spread will cause further disruption at our schools,” the email said.

Following the shooting at a school in Winder, Georgia last week, concerns about possible threats have arisen across the country.

The Montgomery County Sheriff's Office wrote in a social media post Wednesday evening of a “misunderstanding” regarding a “list of target schools.”

“A targeted assisted school is a public school that receives Title I funds to provide additional services to a select group of students who are at risk of not meeting state academic standards. The goal of these programs is to improve teaching and learning so that students can meet the state's achievement standards,” the post states. “Screenshots of these lists are shared through social media. These lists are published by the Department of Education. If you google “Title I Targeted Assisted Schools List,” you will find several PDF formats of these lists. If you look at this list, you will see that the screenshots shared through social media are a hoax and very misleading. Also, keep in mind that in many states, there is a Montgomery County.”

Montgomery County School District R-2 reiterated the same information on its social media on Wednesday.

ABC 17 News has reached out to Columbia Public Schools and Police.