Joint Statement Notifying Community that
There is No Threat at Lincoln Middle School
February 26, 2018
Contacts
Susan Davis (AUSD): 510-337-7175
Sarah Henry: 510-747-4714
This morning Lincoln families contacted Principal Michael Hans to report a disturbing Snapchat message that multiple students were forwarding. In the message there was a reference to an Instagram post suggesting that someone had made a video threatening to “shoot up” “our school” at an undisclosed location.
AUSD staff immediately contacted the Alameda Police Department, who, out of an abundance of caution, sent several officers out to investigate and monitor the situation. Lincoln families were informed of the situation via robocall and emails; AUSD also communicated about the status of the investigation with the public on its home page and on social media.
APD investigated and learned from the reporting LMS student that the post viewed on the student’s phone was actually connected to a “Lincoln High School” in Tacoma, Washington. (You can see an article about the Tacoma school threat here and a post about the national
hoax around “Lincoln” schools here.)
"We learned from our investigation that there was not a threat to Lincoln Middle School or any school in Alameda today," stated Police Chief Paul Rolleri. "Social media posts related to Lincoln High School in Tacoma, Washington were spread locally that caused many people in our community to feel uncomfortable and afraid. We take every threat to our community and our schools seriously, and through our investigation we learned that students who shared these posts did not make any threats or act in a criminal manner. At this point, APD considers the investigation closed, as there are no known threats related to the City of Alameda or its schools."
“We appreciate the families who brought these concerns forward to Principal Hans and the Alameda Police Department,” Superintendent Sean McPhetridge said. “And while APD and AUSD certainly encourage people to report to us when they hear or see something of concern, we want to remind people that rumors on social media can cause greater disruption to our educational settings. We urge Alamedans to work with the school district and police department directly before posting on social media or contacting the press.”
“Again, we thank those who reported directly to APD and AUSD so we could all work together to keep our community and its schools safe.”
#####
