Lawton Public Schools Chief of Police Josh Seely is urging calm after a series of out-of-state social media posts caused concern at several Lawton secondary schools and other state communities.
Earlier this week, messages on Instagram and SnapChat warned “MHS”, “MMS” and “CMS” students of a safety threat. Later in the week, similar messages referenced “LHS.” An incident in Kansas may be tied to the “LHS” posts.
On Wednesday, Kaden Ray Bentley, 18, Leavenworth, Kan., was charged with aggravated criminal threat for threatening to commit a school shooting at Leavenworth High School. Seely said the post made its way to Lawton because it referenced “LHS”.
Seely said the messages used acronyms and could refer to any school in the nation.
“The posts are not naming any school. This could be any school in the United States,” Seely said.
Seely cautioned students and parents about reposting such messages.
“Reposting causes panic,” he said. That panic led to several parents picking up their children at Lawton schools. “Some students saw where districts were canceling classes in other states.”
Seely said Lawton Public Schools will use its notification system to let parents know if there is a credible threat and what steps to take.
“Our priority is keeping our kids and our staff safe,” he said. “We will make the notification to students and parents if there is a viable threat. We will let them (parents) know if their kids need to be kept out of school.”
When students or parents see such posts, they should report the incident rather than repost the message, Seely said.
Seely said there are consequences for reposting such threats. If the threat is false, criminal charges of making a false post could be filed in Comanche County District Court against the parent or student. Charges could range from a misdemeanor to a felony, he said.
Students who repost false information may face disciplinary action from their school principal, Seely said.
“Every threat that comes in, we investigate,” he said. Seely said parents or students should take a screenshot of the threat and notify school personnel or the Lawton Public Schools Police Department at lpspd@lawtonps.org.
Students may use the StopIt app to report incidents. Parents and students also may notify the Lawton Police Department, which in turn will notify Lawton Public Schools Police Department.