UPDATE 1:23 p.m.: LCPS Superintendent Brent Williams issues statement on threats
UPDATE 1:23 p.m.:
The Lenoir County Sheriffs Office is actively investigating a report of school violence. The threat which was posted on an internet site was shared as a tip by a concerned person with the Lenoir County Sheriffs Office and the FBI early this morning.
LCPS Superintendent Brent Williams, LCPS Asst. Superintendent Nick Harvey Jr., Sheriff Ronnie Ingram, Chief Alonzo Jaynes and Major Tim Dilday. Photo by LCSO.
Sheriff Ronnie Ingram, Chief Alonzo Jaynes, Superintendent Brent Williams, and Assistant Superintendent Nick Harvey, Jr. met this morning to discuss the threats made against the schools.
Sheriff Ronnie Ingram states, “we take these threats very serious. We have been working with the Kinston Police Department, NC State Bureau of Investigation and the Federal Bureau of Investigation since this began. We are still trying to identify the person who posted this information.”
The Sheriffs Office has assigned extra personnel to provide security at all the county schools and Kinston Police have assigned additional personnel to the schools in the City of Kinston.
Sheriff Ingram went on to say “the information that we have is just the internet post. We have no other information at this time to determine its credibility. Anonymous threats like these are meant to incite fear and chaos among our parents and students. We will continue our work with our partnering law enforcement agencies and the School board to provide safety at the schools and to identify the person who has caused this by posting the threat on the internet.”
Original post at 11:58 a.m.:
Good morning. This is Brent Williams, Superintendent of Lenoir County Public Schools calling with important information about school. I am calling to keep you informed about a report that law enforcement has received this morning about a general anonymous online threat against “… schools in Lenoir County.” The leadership of Lenoir County Sheriff’s Office and the Kinston Department responded immediately by providing at least one officer for all of our schools today as a proactive measure to increase security and to add another layer of safety to our schools as they continue to investigate and to identify the person who posted this information. We appreciate very much the additional support of law enforcement today.
Today has been a good day in our schools. Our students and staff members are engaged in meaningful learning opportunities without any disruptions or other problems. As you might know, these types of online postings making broad, non-specific threats are designed to promote fear, to create chaos in the schools and in the community, and to disrupt the normal operations of school. We will, however, continue to take every potential threat seriously and continue to provide for every student and staff member the greatest possible level of security and safety at school. Again, I just wanted to keep you informed with as much information as we have as soon as we received it. I will send this information to the homes of all students and staff members again tonight at 6:00 pm. Thank you.
