Missouri high school receives shooting threat against Black students

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The FBI is now investigating threats made to a Missouri high school targeting Black students specifically.

According to Kansas City Public Schools and the Kansas City Police Department, the threats were originally made out of state about a school with a similar name in a different part of the country and then reposted locally on Snapchat. The FBI is now looking into the threats.

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Concerned Northeast High School parents showed local station KSHB the Snapchat posts in question.

One of the posts read: “ATTENTION STUDENTS OF NORTHEAST HIGH SCHOOL be prepared to be shot down tomorrow during a block lunch approximately 10 minutes after the bell.”

The person behind the post then promised to target Black students in the shooting, using a slur to refer to the students.

Another post read, “So excited to see the blood of helpless students as rounds and rounds pierce through the skin of the innocent see all pf (sic) you in a few hours ps not just aiming for students everyone can get some.”

Police are currently investigating the matter and have contacted and interviewed the person who reposted the threat.

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The school’s response

In the meantime, the high school held normal hours but included increased security in the wake of the threats. The school was placed under “No Entry” status in addition to the increased security.

“As always, student safety is our top priority. Our own security team is doing an investigation and we are cooperating closely with the Kansas City Police Department investigators. At this point, we have determined that it is safe to continue with school uninterrupted but with enhanced security,” said Kansas City Public Schools spokesperson Ray Weikal.

At the time of the threats, the school was “in the midst of a previously scheduled intruder drill with Strategos, the firm we use to train for those situations,” according to Weikal.

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The threat is particularly worrisome after a tragic school shooting earlier this month, on Valentine’s Day, in which 19-year-old shooter Nikolas Cruz killed 17 people in Parkland, Florida. Cruz had been part of a white supremacist group and participated in paramilitary drills.

The students and survivors of the Parkland shooting have been adamant about pushing for gun control, vowing that “Never Again” would innocent lives be in danger from such a tragedy.