School shooting threat not credible

Several members of the Rio Rancho community reported a shooting threat to Rio Rancho Police Department at around 8 p.m. March 5. It was later determined the threat was not credible.

The reports were prompted after a screenshot of a message saying a student is threatening to shoot up a school surfaced on several Rio Rancho groups on Facebook. In comments below the screenshot, individuals are saying the threat is in reference to Cleveland High School.

RRPD’s Captain Jacquelynn Reedy says they are aware and appreciate the community’s vigilance with the situation.

“RRPD has been made aware of this screenshot circulating and are investigating the calls pertaining to this same picture,” she added.

Rio Rancho Public Schools sent out a message to parents and their students Wednesday morning about the threat.

“Yesterday morning, Cleveland High School administration and CHS Safety and Security received a report via the STOPit App of a rumor regarding a potential shooting threat against Cleveland High School. The Rio Rancho Public Schools Safety and Security Department and the Rio Rancho Police Department were promptly notified. Both worked together and swiftly conducted an investigation. It was determined that the threat was not credible. Over the night, versions of that threat circulated to other schools via social media, text messages and via the STOPit App. The threat has been investigated,” it reads in an email from RRPS.

The school system continued saying they understand incidents like this can “heighten” anxiety among students, parents and staff.

“Please keep in mind that safety remains our utmost concern. We are committed to maintaining a secure environment and sincerely appreciate those who promptly reported the threat when they heard about it. We want to emphasize that any student involved in making threats of this nature will face immediate and severe consequences. Such threats disrupt the school day and involve extensive efforts to verify their validity and ensure the safety of everyone involved. We want to reiterate that the safety of our students is our highest priority, and this commitment is shared by the administration, teachers, and staff throughout the school district. We will continue to investigate all threats as they are reported. We genuinely appreciate your ongoing support and partnership in keeping our schools safe,” it reads.

In recent years, the FBI has become more involved with similar threats. The FBI classified school shootings as something that involves more than just the schools and police, however.

“They involve schools, families, and the communities. An adolescent comes to school with a collective life experience, both positive and negative, shaped by the environments of family, school, peers, community, and culture. Out of that collective experience come values, prejudices, biases, emotions, and the student’s responses

to training, stress, and authority. His or her behavior at school is affected by the entire range of experiences and influences. No one factor is decisive. By the same token,

however, no one factor is completely without effect, which means that when a student has shown signs of potential violent behavior, schools and other community institutions do have the capacity — and the responsibility — to keep that potential from turning real,” it reads in a threat assessment published by the FBI.

It also says that no threat is the same and even the fake threats should be taken seriously.

The full FBI threat assessment can be found at fbi.gov.