The Palm Beach County School District said in a written statement Tuesday morning there was never a threat to Independence Middle School in Jupiter, following reports Monday night that school police were investigating.
After a thorough investigation, Palm Beach County spokeswoman Julie Houston Trieste said school police determined there was never a threat made against the school.
The posts on social media occurred after a student shared the rumor on a personal Snapchat account.
From this post, Trieste said an "array of additional rumors and posts" were started and students began to inappropriately and unfairly single out another student.
School police spoke with several students Monday night. Through the course of their investigation, they have determined the rumors were unfounded.
Below is the full statement released Tuesday by the school district:
Good morning parents
This message is to update you about the school police investigation from last night.
First, I want to reiterate that there was never a threat against the school posted on social media. After a thorough investigation, School Police has determined there was never a threat made against the school. The posts on social media occurred after a student shared the rumor on a personal Snapchat account. From this post, an array of additional rumors and posts were started and students began to inappropriately and unfairly single out another student.
School police spoke with several students last night . Through the course of their investigation, they have determined the rumors were unfounded . All parents involved in this situation were extremely cooperative and school police is confident there is no threat to our school .
Parents, it is imperative that you speak with your students about the importance of NOT sharing rumors on social media. Students should share this information with their parents and authorities only so that it can be investigated. Rumors posted by students perpetuate an unnecessary climate of fear, making it more difficult to return our campus routine to normal after a situation like this.
I am very appreciative to those of you who shared information with authorities and diligently monitored this situation last night . As I am sure you can understand, I am unable to share information about other students involved in the investigation or the details of the investigation itself, other than to assure you , there was no basis to the rumors that started and spread quickly, yesterday,
We'll be focussed on maintaining our normal school routine today and the great teaching and learning that happens every day here at Independence Middle.
Additional School Police will be with us this morning to ensure students feel safe as they return to school today.
Thank you as always for your support of our school. I look forward to seeing our students in just a few hours.
