Gloversville school shooting threat deemed invalid

GLOVERSVILLE, N.Y. (NEWS10) — Working together with city police, the Gloversville Enlarged School District has investigated reports of an alleged school shooting planned for today, October 21, at the high school. District officials said the threat was considered invalid, having been fueled by wildly inaccurate speculation circulated by both students and parents on social media.

"This is very unfortunate as it causes unnecessary anxiety and distraction from the important work of educating the youth of our community," said Superintendent of Schools David Halloran. "Safety of our scholars and staff is our highest priority. We take every alleged threat seriously and ask all scholars, parents, and guardians to be mindful not to post baseless accusations on social media or engage in unnecessary fear-mongering."

If a seemingly credible threat is posted on social media, parents, and students are still encouraged to capture the image or text and promptly report it to school officials or law enforcement. If a child tells you of alarming statements made by an individual in school or the community, Halloran said to make sure you are mindful to capture the specifics of the alleged comments and report them, as well.

"As a community, we all need to be cognizant of the potential impact of our words and the importance of being levelheaded and deliberate when processing sensitive information. I encourage all parents and guardians of age-appropriate scholars to have this important conversation," concluded Halloran.