PEORIA, Ill. – A post on social media led to safety concerns among students, parents, and staff Wednesday in Chillicothe.
The post named Chillicothe Jr. High and Elementary Center as one of the 50 schools in the nation to experience the next school shooting, according to 25 News.
Schools Superintendent Dr. Chad Allison wrote an email to parents reassuring them that police and staff do not believe the post is a legitimate threat.
“We all need to be cognizant when we see things, whether it’s on social media, whether it’s in a neighborhood, in one of our schools, in our hallways. If they see something that they think isn’t safe, let us know,” Allison said.
Two students saw the post around 2 p.m. Wednesday, bringing it to the attention of school administrators, who then contacted Chillicothe Police.
The list of schools, originally posted by an anonymous account, was taken down shortly after it was brought to administrators.
Allison said these types of posts are becoming more common on social media.
“It would be great if we had some safeguards on the front end. Why there’s an anonymous account makes absolutely zero sense to me as an administrator and as a parent,” Allison said. “Let’s try to be a little more cognizant of not letting people do this kind of stuff.”
Allison said police reported the post to the social media platform, but didn’t indicate which platform it was.
Chillicothe school administration and police don’t believe the post was created by anyone in the community or the school.
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