Threats impact local schools

White Salmon parents were alerted via email before 9 a.m., nearly an hour and a half before school started with a two-hour delay, that the White Salmon Valley School District received information “that there was a potential threat,” and that district administrators, while working with law enforcement “have determined it is a low-level threat as there is no specific threat.”

Noting that law enforcement officials would provide additional security throughout the day, administrators said that “It is SAFE to send your students to school.”

Klickitat County Sheriff Bob Songer said in a press release that the threat arose out of a nationwide trend on social media platform TikTok. The threat targeted Columbia High School specifically and identified Dec. 16 as the day when violence was to occur. A deputy was able to identify and make contact with the source of the threat, one unnamed 14-year-old.

Deputy Dwane Matulovich determined the threat was not credible.

“The Klickitat County Sheriff’s Office and other law enforcement agencies in Klickitat County are taking any threat serious, despite the TikTok challenge,” Songer said.

Online news organization The Verge reported on Friday that Districts in California, Texas, Minnesota, and Missouri announced plans to cancel school Friday, and that other districts planned to heighten security measures in response to the reports.

TikTok’s communications team said in a Twitter post that “We handle even rumored threats with utmost seriousness, which is why we’re working with law enforcement to look into warnings about potential violence at schools even though we have not found evidence of such threats originating or spreading via TikTok.

“We’ve exhaustively searched for content that promotes violence at schools today, but have still found nothing. What we find are videos discussing this rumor and warning others to stay safe, the company said in the post. “Local authorities, the FBI, and DHS have confirmed there’s no credible threat, so we’re working to remove alarmist warnings that violate our misinformation policy.”

White Salmon Valley Superintendent Sean McGeeney said the threat appeared to target Columbia High School. It emerged from Instagram, he said.

Columbia High School Principal Craig McKee notified McGeeney and law enforcement officials, who then were in constant communication with one another, McGeeney recalled during a regular meeting of the White Salmon Valley School Board.

Two to three sheriff’s deputies were posted on and around campus as well as an officer from Bingen-White Salmon Police Department on Thursday, McGeeney said.

Meanwhile, McGeeney said district staff were present and aware of the threats and had been keeping eyes on the campus throughout the day.

It was literally all hands on deck,” he said.

In a phone interview, McGeeney recounted the district’s “open and fluid communication between staff members and law enforcement.”

“Everything moved as it was supposed to move,” he said. “The kids’ safety stayed as a focus the whole time.”

During Thursday’s school board meeting, board member Billy Gross noted parents told him they had not received an alert from the school that day.

McGeeney responded by noting the communication with the community was not perfect. The first message that was sent out exceeded their communication system’s character limit, causing the message to not be sent via text message.

One parent said during the public commenting period that some parents received emails while others did not, “Because I did not get an email. But then in the afternoon to tell parents everything safe and most parents had no idea until they got that text in the afternoon that everything’s safe… why can you not communicate to us in the beginning that you are investigating something?”

Goldendale Superintendent Ellen Perconti told The Goldendale Sentinel that “Monday morning, GHS received information regarding a student who had made statements that were perceived as a possible threat. The student was pulled aside before entering classes on Monday morning prior to any interaction with students. The situation was handled professionally and appropriately by (Goldendale High School Principal) Mr. Westerman and GHS staff.”

Perconti had not responded to a request for comment on Friday’s closures by press deadline.

While no threats were reported at Wasco County and Hood River County schools, both districts sent out announcements reminding parents who have concerns about a student’s mental well-being to contact the student’s principal, and that SafeOregon is a statewide program that allows anyone to report a tip regarding school safety.

Hood River Valley High School Principal Columba Jones asked parents not to repost threats on social media, saying it “serves no purpose other than adding to the fear and uncertainty of the situation.”