RPD responds to possible social media threat against John Marshall High School

John Marshall Threats

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(ABC 6 News) – The Rochester Police Department responded to a potential social media threat made against John Marshall High School, an official from Rochester Public Schools (RPS) said Thursday.

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The following was sent by RPS via email to John Marshall students, parents, caregivers and staff on Wednesday, December 18.

“Dear John Marshall parents, caregivers, staff, and students,

This evening, multiple members of the John Marshall community made us aware of a social media post that showed a picture of a gun, but that did not include a specific threat against any individual or organization. The administrative team at John Marshall and Rochester Public Schools system leaders have been working with the Rochester Police Department (RPD) to investigate. Based on what we know at this time, we have concluded that the social media account and post were generated from a fake account. We have no reason to believe a legitimate threat to the John Marshall community exists.

We will continue to work with RPD as they attempt to determine who is responsible for this post and will have additional support from RPD tomorrow at John Marshall High School. We are grateful to the many students and parents who have contacted John Marshall staff and who have used our Speak Up service tonight to report this post. The safety of our school community is our top priority, and the best way to maintain a safe school environment is for our students to report anything they are concerned about to a trusted adult.

Thank you,
Rochester Public Schools”

On Thursday, a follow-up email was sent to those same people.

“Dear John Marshall parents, caregivers, staff, and students,

We wanted to provide a follow-up to our message from last night. The Rochester Police Department (RPD) worked through the night, and we are pleased to say that the situation has been effectively resolved. We are grateful for the work that RPD did and for our partnership with them.

Thank you,

Rochester Public Schools”