by Patrick H. Moore
Social media and the internet is a two-edged sword. When used in a positive manner it can greatly enhance communication. It can also be used in a hurtful and destructive manner as has been demonstrated by the many children who have actually committed suicide after being shamed and humiliated by cruel peers on Facebook and other social media platforms. What is equally disturbing is the fact that it provides an ideal platform for twisted, disturbed or just plain miserable children to launch vendettas against what they perceive of as a cruel and uncaring world. This was demonstrated powerfully in Battle Ground, Washington (near Portland, Oregon) yesterday when the authorities rightfully felt that they had no choice other than to close down SIX SCHOOLS based on self-styled threats of destruction posted online by a 13-year-old middle school student who was attending Chief Umtuch Middle School.
This is the series of events that led to the school closures:
First, school officials at Chief Umtuch Middle School received a suicide threat with no name attached during a curriculum night. Principal David Cresap reports that after a call went out to all parents, warning them of the threat, a second note was received that threatened a specific teacher and mentioned Chief Umtuch Middle School as an apparent target. This was followed by further very disturbing communications in which the perpetrator, who turned out to be the 13-year-old student, made physical threats suggesting the possibility of using explosives. This caused great consternation among the officials who naturally notified the police. Believing that they had no other choice, local law enforcement, after consulting with the FBI, made the difficult decision to close down six schools in Battle Ground on Wednesday to buy time to thoroughly search the schools in order to rule out any possibility that the suspect had planted explosives on any of the six campuses.
The police then performed a thorough, physical sweep of Chief Umtuch along with Captain Strong Primary, Summit View Middle, CAM Academy, Battle Ground High, and Firm Foundation Christian, a nearby private school.
With the help of the FBI, the suspect, who remains unnamed due to his age, was identified. His computer was seized. After investigating further, the officers determined that the child did not possess the means to carry out any of the threats he had made. According to Battle Ground Police Sgt. Aaron Kanooth, it does not appear that any other suspects were involved. Once the authorities were certain that there was no imminent threat, the child was released to the custody of his parents, who have been fully cooperative. The case will now be forwarded to the Clark County Juvenile Prosecutor for charges of felony harassment.
District officials stated that the schools will re-open on Thursday.
On parent responded to the incident by stating:
“It’s frightening. It makes you want to home school.”
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The obvious question here is did the authorities over-react to what they perceived of as a very serious threat? After all, how could a single 13-year-old kid plant explosives at numerous local area schools? On the other hand, when they launched the investigation, the officials had no evidence that it was merely a one-child show, and even if they had known that, recent events demonstrate that a single deranged young person can unleash devastating damage to a community. Adam Lanza and Sandy Hook Elementary School is, of course, the prime recent example. So we are left with the inescapable conclusion that the district really had no choice other than to expend a great deal of effort with all the associated costs and inconvenience — including closing down the schools for a day — to ensure that no one would be harmed.
Also, it should be noted that back in March, an 18-year-old student, Luke Love, was arrested and charged after a janitor found a threat written on the stall of a boy’s bathroom at Battle Ground High School. On that occasion, staff and students were sent home for the day, but a bomb was not found.
Thus, we’re left with the grim reminder that a single troubled youth can easily disrupt the daily activities of an entire community by merely posting threats online with sufficient specificity to alarm the authorities. Any kid armed with basic computer literacy (and virtually all modern kids fall into this category) is capable of doing precisely that.