Students asked to contact police

Willoughby Police Department is asking students not to share threats on social media but notify law enforcement.

Following a threat that was determined not to be credible, the Willoughby Police Department is asking students not to share threats on social media and instead notify law enforcement.

On Jan. 15, the Willoughby police department received a report about a possible threat made against an unnamed school.

Willoughby Lt. James Schultz said the complainant reported receiving a Snapchat about someone shooting up the school. The student who had found the post, shared it and then notified a parent who contacted the department.

It was initially believed the post came from a South High School student, but that turned out to be false. The department along with agencies in Lake, Ashtabula and Cuyahoga counties investigated the threat along with the Cleveland FBI.

The FBI was able to locate the source of the post and determined that the threat was not credible. Schultz said the account belonged to a homeschooled student in Cleveland. The student’s account may have been hacked. No arrests were made, Schultz said.

According to the department, their South High School resource officer immediately notified the district about the incident.

“The Willoughby Police Department and the Willoughby-Eastlake School District take all threats of school violence seriously,” the department stated in a Facebook post. “Please remind your students that threats of school violence should be reported immediately to their parents/ teachers and local police department.”

The department stated that students should not share/repost/retweet the threats on social media.

“Students who choose to share threats could face criminal delinquency charges and/or school sanctions,” the department stated.