With school shootings occurring nationwide, and more recent events inspiring fear, Chapin High School received anonymous threats of a school shooting on Monday, February 19th. A message vandalized on the wall of the men’s bathroom read “shooting up the school tomorrow!” and has received attention district wide as such events have resurfaced with the tragedy at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.

This caught the attention of administrators, parents, and students causing an uproar of questioning Chapin High Schools code of conduct if a school shooting is to occur. Principal of Chapin High School, Dr. Akil Ross, sent out a message to all CHS families to diffuse the tension created by the graffiti on the bathroom wall. As a extra precaution, school administrators chose to bring in more School Resource Officers, or SRO, to combat the issue that arose on Monday.

Casey Gardner, Chapin High School’s newest SRO, responded to questions of the school’s security by saying “I think were already prepared, I think the school already has a good plan in place we are just doing our same thing, you may notice there are some extra SRO officers standing by just to give us some more visibility but we are just here to serve as any other normal day.”

Officer Cato has served as  SRO at CHS for years and with threats of potential school shooting was abruptly brought to his attention. He commented “I get up every morning and I put this badge on with the anticipation that someone is going to try to harm the school, so my security is no different today than it was yesterday, than it will be tomorrow. We’re always ready for something to happen.”

Many parents were concerned with the recent allegations and had difficulty in how to respond. Some parents wondered whether they should send their children to school or to keep them at home for the day. Madison Barber, a sophomore at CHS, stayed at home the day following the event “I stayed home because my mom heard about it and it was all over the news so even though she knew something wasn’t going to happen,” said Barber. “But she just wanted to be cautious.”

A Chapin High School administrator who is also a parent of a current CHS student, Scott Stogner, responded to the suspicions of the school safety with confidence in the high school administration team’s ability to keep both students and faculty members safe. His child was in attendance in school on Tuesday. Stogner confirmed his faith with the plan in place, “Everyday I come here for work and because I have a child here now I am always a tiny bit concerned about something.  I’m a parent, but I would have absolutely no second thoughts.”

With all the tension that has surfaced, especially appearing on news channels frequently, schools struggle to demonstrate their safety and precautions in place. In addition to his message sent home to all CHS families, Dr. Ross wants to inform the community of the severity of the issue and the measures being taken to prevent it from occurring in the future. Dr. Ross faces the issue with integrity and optimism. “In the context of things that have gone on its okay to be scared,” said Dr. Ross. “But what bothers me is the state of fear that persists and I think terrorism only wins when you are terrorized.”

Arrest made in School Threats WLTX.com

For Coverage of other School Threats Click Here  The State Newspaper

For Coverage of other School Threats Click Here WLTX.com

For Coverage of other School Threats Click Here WACH Fox.com