‘It’s not a joke’: Parents and students react to false school shooting threat at Palmyra-Macedon High School
PALMYRA, N.Y. — Parents and students are fed up after a fake school threat kept everyone on their toes at Palmyra-Macedon High School.
“It just seems to get worse and worse every single year and more and more. And again, people think it’s a joke, but you don’t know when it’s actually going to be true, when it’s actually going to happen,” said Heather Roegiers, a parent.
A Palmyra-Macedon student has been arrested and is facing a felony charge. Police say he made a school shooting threat against the district.
“Approximately 12:15, we received information from one of our secretaries, a student had turned in a note that he found in one of the restrooms that had a written threat of a school shooting that was going to happen on a specific date next week,” said John Colella, Pal-Mac director of school safety.
Colella says the student who turned in the note, and circulated it on social media, turned out to be the same one who wrote it.
“Ultimately ended up being the individual who wrote the note. He advised us that he was looking to get out of school,” Collella said.
Motives aside, the threat kept many students, like 10th grader Blake Michael Stephens, on edge throughout the whole school day.
“It was, it was pretty scary. I will admit. I was scared myself. My mom was definitely scared for sure. I think there was some kids freaking out, too. And I feel bad because, you know, they don’t really, they don’t know the situation. They don’t know what’s going on. So I think it’s just scary experience for everybody,” Stephens said.
Scared. That’s how parent Heather Roegiers described feeling today as well. While she doesn’t have kids in Palmyra-Macedon High School yet, she says it’s upsetting having to worry about her children’s safety at school at all.
“I know today after hearing that, you know, there was threats going around as well. I had my phone on ring all day at work just in case. And I even talked with both my kids before I dropped them off at school. ‘Hey, if something were to happen, just make sure you guys have a plan.’ And, you know, it’s not something that I want to think about every single day, but it’s unfortunately the sad truth of what’s going on in this world these days,” Roegiers said.
“It is kind of crazy that people are like doing this. It’s not a joke. I’ve talked to someone that did it and they thought it. They thought it was a joke and it ruined their life. And it’s not a good thing,” said Timothy Roegiers, an eighth grader.
Police believe no students were ever in direct harm.
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