Jackson R-2 schools close for the day after social media threat, Cape schools on high alert

Jackson R-2 School District was not in session Friday, Sept. 13, and Cape Girardeau Central High School was on high alert after threats of violence were circulated on social media.

During a news conference on Friday, Jackson superintendent Scott Smith said officials discovered the threat at approximately 10:30 p.m. Thursday and the decision to close for the day came at around 5:30 a.m. Friday.

"We've been working with the Jackson Police Department since last night on this matter, and this morning we decided, in an overabundance of precaution, we decided to close school today," Smith said. "The Jackson Police Department is continuing to investigate this, along with other law enforcement agencies. It's an ongoing investigation, and what we are trying to do is just make sure that our students continue to remain safe as well as our staff. Student and staff safety is always a top priority here within the Jackson R-2 School District, and we always want to look out for their best interest."

Jackson R-2 School District superintendent Scott Smith, right, and athletic director John Martin address members of the media on Friday, Sept. 13. Jackson schools were closed for the day after a threat was discovered on social media Thursday night.

J.C. Reeves ~ jcreeves@semissourian.com

Jackson's home sporting events scheduled for Friday and Saturday, Sept. 14, were canceled or postponed per the district's social media, and no practices will be held on campus. The Jackson Area Youth Football League games scheduled to take place Saturday at The Pit were also canceled. The high school football team's game against Edwardsville, Ill., has been moved to 6 p.m. Saturday at Edwardsville High School.

Smith said the threat was made through Snapchat and mentioned Jackson schools, but it was unclear if the post was referring to the local city or another city elsewhere.

"Of course, there's a lot of Jacksons in the country," Smith said. "It was not specific whether it was Jackson, Missouri, or where it was at. However, taking safety very seriously, nobody was able to either corroborate or disqualify this threat as being part of Jackson, Missouri. So, in visiting with our police department, we felt like it was best for us to cancel school."

Cape Girardeau Public Schools received a similar threat directed toward Cape Central High School, but officials decided to stay in session. A message to families said the Cape Girardeau Police Department and school resource officers were investigating the matter and that Cape PD would provide extra support throughout the district.

Because of the new security measures at the high school, the district felt it would be safer to keep students in the building rather than release them.

"Because our students at the high school go through weapons detection each morning, it was determined that our students are safer being held in the building at this time," CGPS posted to Facebook. "We are committed to ensuring that our buildings and campuses are safe, and will continue to take any message containing threatening language very seriously. The individual or individuals responsible will face serious charges."

CGPS provided an update Friday afternoon, saying Cape PD and SROs determined there is "no credible threat against our high school or any of our schools or campuses." However, extra security remained throughout the district for the remainder of the day.

All CGPS extracurricular activities, including athletics, will continue as scheduled.

Both CGPS and Smith urged families to monitor their children's social media usage and familiarize themselves with what apps are being used.

"We want to remind our students and parents in the community that school violence, whether it be just a joke, that is not something we're going to take lightly," Smith said. "We take all threats of violence very seriously. We encourage our parents to be very vigilant with your children and to monitor their social media. Have these conversations and remind them that making a threat toward a school district is a serious issue and something they need to monitor very closely. ...

"There's a zero tolerance on the law enforcement side as well as the school district side. Safety is our top priority. It will continue to be our top priority. So just work with your children if you feel like they are age-appropriate. Have those conversations about what it means. I would also encourage our parents, if you see something, to please immediately report it to either a school administrator or the local law enforcement agency, so it can be handled directly."

Other Southeast Missouri school districts, including Sikeston, Woodland, Poplar Bluff, Doniphan and Twin Rivers, as well as schools state and nationwide, have also reported receiving threats in the wake of a school shooting in Georgia that killed two students and two teachers.

"Unfortunately, since last week's occurrence in Georgia, things have expedited tremendously," Smith said, "and then this week has been tremendous. A lot of schools have been dealing with this throughout the week."