UPDATE, 1/26:
For the second day in a row, the Raytown School District was made aware of a threat made against Raytown High School on social media.
The Raytown School District posted on Facebook that they are working with Raytown police, who believe the threat is non-credible. The district said there is an increased police presence and heightened awareness at Raytown High School, but they are conducting school as planned.
The Raytown School District's Facebook post reads in full:
For the second day in a row, we have been made aware of a threat against Raytown High School via social media. Both...
Posted by Raytown C-2 School District on Tuesday, January 26, 2016
ORIGINAL STORY:
Raytown police say a social media threat sent to Raytown High School was copied, pasted and sent to other schools across the nation on Monday.
Raytown Police say this social media threat was copied & pasted around the nation - other schools receiving same threat. @41ActionNews
— Sarah Plake (@SarahPlakeTV) January 25, 2016
A text message warning of a “shootout” to take place at the school on Monday was sent on Sunday, according to school officials.
Superintendent Allan Markley on Raytown high threat on social media @41ActionNews pic.twitter.com/9E9MWLc4vH
— Sarah Plake (@SarahPlakeTV) January 25, 2016
As a safety measure, when students arrived they were held on buses, escorted to class by school administrators and remained in first hour while police investigated, Raytown High School Superintendent Allan Markley said in a statement.
Update: Raytown not on lockdown, but heightened awareness because of social media threat. No visible threat.@41ActionNews
— Sarah Plake (@SarahPlakeTV) January 25, 2016
“At this time, we know that many schools in many states have received a similar threat,” Markley said.
Raytown High School was not on lockdown but heightened awareness due to the threat, school officials said.
"You still have to take it seriously because you don't know what school [the threat is] targeting," said Mark Horton, whose niece is a senior.
Like Horton, several parents told 41 Action News they were displeased at how the school district handled the situation.
Horton found out "something was going on" when his niece called his phone.
"She was nervous and a little stressed and there was a lot of activity in the background," he said. "I had a lot of difficulty understanding what she was saying."
Others said they wished the school would have turned students away before they were dropped off.
"At the point they needed to lock it down and they felt that need, they should have cancelled school for an hour. If you feel a threat, that's that big to lock down the school the safest place for students was probably somewhere else," said Michael Coppock, whose son is a freshman.
Police are investigating the incident.
The same social media threat was made in Florida, Michigan and Alabama, school officials said.
If you have information about the incident, contact the Raytown Police Department.
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