LOCKPORT, N.Y. — On Wednesday, the Lockport City School district announced the person making threats against the high school has been identified and charged. The statement was posted on the high school's website.
All Lockport City Schools went remote on Wednesday as a result of threats on social media made against the high school. Lockport High School went to remote learning on Tuesday, the third altering to its schedule in two weeks because of social media threats.
The student who has been identified by law enforcement of making the threats is suspended and will proceed to a superintendent's hearing. They will also be held accountable through the legal system, according to the school district.
Lockport City School District asked people to report other suspicious behavior to a confidential tip line at (716) 439-6707 or LPDtipemail@lockportny.gov.
All schools will stay remote through Friday, and parents will receive more information on Friday about the school reopening next week.
The full statement is below:
Social Media Threats Update
December 8, 2021
As you may know, the Lockport Police Department in collaboration with federal partners announced today that an individual responsible for recent social media threats primarily directed towards Lockport High School has been identified and charged. The recent events caused significant distraction and disruption to the entire school community. The District remains sensitive to the concerns created by the threats within the Lockport community. As in past cases and although not always as quickly as we would like, individuals have always been identified and held responsible for their actions through both the legal system and the school system to the fullest extent possible. In this case, the individual will be suspended from school and proceed to a superintendent’s hearing.
Thank you to all members of the Lockport City School District for their patience and cooperation in managing this situation over the past several weeks. Their focus has always been on providing quality teaching and learning experiences in safe environments. A special thank you to Chief Steven Abbott, members of the Lockport Police Department, and all federal agencies for their tireless efforts in this investigation and for providing resources to the District when requested. Parents are reminded to review appropriate school behavior with children and to continually monitor children’s social media accounts and activities. Students are reminded to think before they post, stay focused on their schoolwork and extracurricular activities, and if they see, hear, or read something that is suspicious, report it to a trusted adult. If an individual is acting suspiciously or out of character please report that as well. Thank you to all who provided information to the District and law enforcement to assist in the investigation.
If you have information regarding any threats, it can be phoned or emailed to the Lockport Police Department Confidential Tip Line:
Phone: (716) 439-6707
eMail: LPDtipemail@lockportny.gov
Both are monitored and tracked by the Lockport Police Department.
Because the investigation is continuing at this time with potential pending charges once all evidence has been reviewed by law enforcement for this individual and the District is conducting a review of school safety protocols, all schools in the Lockport City School District will remain in the remote learning model through Friday, December 10, 2021, as originally planned. This review will determine how to enhance school safety upon return to in-person instruction in a coordinated and thorough manner. In addition, this review will also allow us to better respond in the future to various types of potential threats.
Updated information will be provided by Friday, December 10, 2021, regarding the return to in-person instruction on Monday, December 13, 2021, and weekend events scheduled for Saturday, December 11, 2021.