MOLINE, Ill. — Extra safety precautions were taken at John Deere Middle School in Moline Wednesday morning as police investigated a potential school shooting threat, according to a press release.
Moline police said the alleged threat began circulating on social media Tuesday night amongst local middle school students. John Deere Middle's school resource officer received information that the social media post indicated a potential school shooting at a middle school, but that it did not directly name JDMS.
The post, according to police, was a screenshot of a Snapchat with an additional layer of text that said the poster didn't know if the threat was true. That post began circulating on social media with additional text saying, "Send this around warn people."
According to the release, detectives with MPD were able to trace the post back to an Ohio school district that originated on Tuesday. JDMS families, students and staff were notified about the alleged threat and there was an additional police presence at JDMS Wednesday morning as a precaution.
"We appreciate the cooperation and diligence of everyone involved," the release from MPD states. "The police department encourages anyone with information about threats to immediately report them to the police department so they can be thoroughly investigated. It is important that the police department gets this information as soon as possible to determine the source, and validity or ensure there is no danger to the public. In this case, the police department was able to take swift action and determine there was no danger and the school day was not disrupted."
The public is always able to report concerning behavior or posts to local police, school administrators, Crime Stoppers at (309) 762-9500 or through the P3 Tips app.
