DAVENPORT, Iowa — Davenport school and law enforcement officials have issued statements regarding several posts circulating online that they describe as “non-credible school threats.” The announcements come after four vague threats surfaced in the last two weeks on social media, creating concern among parents and students in the community.
During a joint press conference, Davenport Community School District Superintendent TJ Schneckloth and Davenport Police Chief Jeff Bladel addressed these concerns. Both emphasized that while they take all threats seriously, there is no credible threat to any Davenport schools at this time.
"With the start of the new school year, law enforcement nationwide has seen an increase in in threats on social media alleging acts of violence on schools," Davenport Police Chief Jeff Bladel said. "If these are known to be non-credible and they're continually being shared, that's still chewing into the resources of your police department, of your school district".
"It is an absolute disruption to our school day," Davenport Schools Superintendent TJ Schneckloth said. "In the schools impacted in these events, the attendance is drastically impacted".
Statement from Davenport Community School District Superintendent TJ Schneckloth
This week, there have been rumors and false information circulating on social media regarding potential violent acts in Davenport and other area school districts. While we understand the concerns these posts may raise, I want to reassure you that there is no credible threat of violence against any of our schools at this time. We are thankful to the Davenport Police Department as well as our school and district administrators who worked through the overnight hours investigating these threats.
The safety and security of our students, staff, and families are our top priority. The Davenport Community School District has been working in close cooperation with the Davenport Police Department, and will continue to diligently respond to and investigate any threat of potential violence to our schools. We take all threats seriously and we have taken additional precautions to ensure our schools remain safe environments for learning.
We are thankful for the many students and family members who have shared these posts with district officials and the police department. When someone learns of a post that includes potentially threatening or concerning information, the most appropriate course of action is to report the post to police and school officials. Do not reshare or repost these messages. Doing so only leads to increased fear, speculation and the spreading of misinformation – which is often the very intent of the individual making the post. Reporting the post immediately rather than sharing it will allow an investigation to begin faster and allows law enforcement to more quickly determine the origin and credibility of the post.
This is an important reminder about the power of social media to quickly spread misinformation and rumors. We encourage you to talk to your children about the importance of responsible social media use and the dangers of spreading unverified information that can cause unnecessary fear. All threats of violence against our schools are taken seriously. Many threats of violence will come with significant school disciplinary and legal consequences. We encourage you to reinforce these points with your student.
We encourage our community that if you see something, say something - Submit an anonymous tip by downloading the P3 App or by visiting www.qccrimestoppers.com or by calling 911.
Today, we are thankful for our school staff, the Davenport Police Department, and our students for helping maintain a productive day of learning across the district. Thank you for your support of our schools and for your role in our collective work to provide the safest possible learning environment for our students.
Statement from Davenport Police
With the start of the new school year, law enforcement nationwide has seen an increase in threats on social media alleging acts of violence in schools, many being vague and non-specific.
Davenport Police have been made aware of vague social media threats that have impacted outof-state schools that may share generic names with schools within our own community. The Davenport Police Department takes all threats of violence seriously and thoroughly investigates any threat or the possibility of a threat to our community.
Davenport Police have investigated several of these vague, non-specific threats and there is no credible threat of violence against any Davenport Community School at this time.
The Davenport Police Department continues to work in close cooperation with our school partners and will continue to diligently respond to and investigate any threat of potential violence as the safety of our community, students, and school personnel is a top priority.
We ask our community, parents, and students to remain vigilant, stop sharing screenshots of vague, non-specific threats on social media and via texts, and instead, report suspicious behavior to law enforcement, school officials, or a trusted adult.
Instances like these are an important reminder about the power of social media and how quickly misinformation and rumors can spread. We encourage you to talk to your children about the importance of responsible social media use and the dangers of spreading unverified information that can cause unnecessary fear and concern.
Threats of violence in our schools will not be tolerated and issuing threats such as these are taken very seriously even if there is no intent on following through. Making threats has consequences not only in the school setting, but also has legal consequences that can result in criminal charges.
We encourage our community that if you see something, say something - Submit an anonymous tip by downloading the P3 App or by visiting www.qccrimestoppers.com or by calling 9-1-1.
FBI Springfield released a statement saying you can always submit a tip to tips.fbi.gov.
Davenport Police said if you see any threats circulating online, call law local enforcement immediately.