SOUTH HADLEY — Extra police were on the scene Tuesday at all of South Hadley’s schools after a reported threat was made on social media.
In an email to families Tuesday morning, Michael E. Smith Middle School Principal David Gallagher said a message posted Monday to the social media platform Snapchat “referenced possible violence at MESMS today.”
“In light of the recent events in Texas, we are approaching this situation with the utmost seriousness,” Gallagher said, adding that the South Hadley Police Department would have an officer on campus all day. “We are continuing to investigate this situation and additional information will be shared as necessary.”
In another message to school families, acting Superintendent Mark McLaughlin said South Hadley police were “conferring with the district attorney’s office concerning the possibility of any applicable criminal charges in the matter.” McLaughlin had early told families that the town’s schools were safe and did not recommend that they pick up their children from school. In his message, he said that the school is handling the matter internally as well, but did not release more information about the student or the alleged threat, citing the need to keep student privacy.
McLaughlin said that it is imperative for the district to protect student and staff safety, but also to evaluate the context of a threat to make sure that its responses do not “unnecessarily enhance anxiety among students, staff and families during this very challenging time in our national culture.”
McLaughlin said police presence had been increased at all four schools — South Hadley High School, Mosier Elementary School, Plains Elementary School and the middle school — “as an extra safety precaution and as a sign that, once again, our town agencies are working together to protect our students.”
“Our schools were safe today and protected by a swift and comprehensive response by school-based and police personnel,” McLaughlin wrote. “Our schools were also safer today because of the efforts of some community members who, having observed the threat on social media, brought it to the attention of the proper authorities so that it could be evaluated and addressed quickly and efficiently.”
In the wake of the devastating school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, where a gunman killed 19 children and two teachers, communities across the country are on edge. McLaughlin referred to the “heightened emotions” of everyone on campus.
Last Thursday, police in Haverhill arrested a student after he allegedly made threats and the student’s school briefly went into lockdown.
That same day, police investigated a social media post in a West Springfield Facebook forum threatening to “shoot up” the middle school and increased their presence at the town’s schools the next day. Police later concluded that the threat came from a fictitious account somebody made “for the sole purpose of creating fear in light of the recent events in Texas.” In a statement, police said the threat was not credible.
Since the Columbine High massacre in 1999, more than 311,000 children in the United States have been exposed to gun violence at school, according to The Washington Posts’s comprehensive database of school shootings. The Post found that there were 42 school shootings in 2021, more than any year since at least 1999, and that so far this year there have been 24 acts of gun violence on K-12 campuses during the school day.
In South Hadley, McLaughlin ended his message by drawing attention to “the power, and the potential danger, of the incautious use of social media.” He said that the district will continue to partner with families to educate young people about not causing harm or promoting inaccurate information on social media.
“It is a helpful and useful tool when used correctly, and a very dangerous destabilizing tool when used carelessly or with bad intent,” he said.
Dusty Christensen can be reached at dchristensen@gazettenet.com.