Several high schools were interrupted in the Denver metro area by threats made to campus safety today at a time when schools nationwide are on high alert for violence.
Law enforcement officers and the Cherry Creek School District are investigating after a student said he was going to shoot Smoky Hill High School students.
The incident began when a Cherokee Trails High School student was having a conversation with a teacher at school, said Tustin Amole, spokeswoman for the Cherry Creek school district.
The teacher asked whether he planned on attending homecoming. The student said no because he was going to Smoky Hill High School, Amole said. The teacher asked why and he said, “To shoot people I don’t like.”
The teacher told the student the comments weren’t funny or acceptable, Amole said. The student responded, “Who says I was joking.”
Amole said the student made the comments in a “flip” manner, however his comments are still being taken seriously.
In Thornton, a bomb threat was called into Horizon High School prompting authorities to evacuate the campus while officers searched the campus, school officials said.
Northglenn police say they sent a large presence of officers to patrol Northglenn High School after they got information that students might be fighting with other teens from another area, possibly from Thornton or Adams County.
At Littleton High School, administrators had increased security on campus after graffiti was found on a bathroom wall that threatened violence, said Littleton Public Schools spokeswoman Diane Leiker.
The students were also hearing separate rumors about violence that may or may not occur.
District security and police swept the campus grounds on Wednesday night to make sure the school was safe today, Leiker said.
“Because it’s happening now, people have a much more heightened sense of concern,” Leiker said. “We always follow up on the threats.”
Staff writer Felisa Cardona can be reached at 303-954-1219 or at fcardona@denverpost.com.
