What triggered Buckingham schools’ social media warning?

Published 6:46 am Monday, April 1, 2024

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In the early hours on Thursday, March 28, officials from Buckingham County Public Schools put out a warning. They said the district had received a number of reports from students, staff and members of the community about an alleged threat going out over social media. 

Now nothing happened at any of the schools on Thursday. There were no incidents and everyone got home safe on the last day before Spring Break started. As far as the threat goes, district officials said they worked with the Buckingham County Sheriff’s Office to identify the person involved and take steps to protect students and staff. 

As for what triggered the threat? Buckingham Sheriff Billy Kidd said what his investigators found was a situation blown quickly out of proportion. 

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“Investigators were quick to check on this situation and pretty much indicated that the rumors were blown out of proportion,” Kidd said. “A threat was made to an individual about coming to his house and social media took it from there. The individual making the threats was questioned and a search of his home conducted.” 

And while Kidd said the investigation hasn’t been closed yet, he said it basically stemmed from what appeared to be a simple argument. 

“(You have) one individual who thought another individual ratted him out and (as a result), threatened to come to his home,” Kidd said. 

The student who made the threat has been suspended. However, since no charges were filed and due to the student’s age, that person’s name is not being released. 

Officials from Buckingham County Public Schools thanked everyone who alerted them and the investigators from the sheriff’s office. They thanked everyone for protecting Buckingham schools.

Even before this, work was going on to help protect schools in Buckingham County, as you can read here.