Fairview Police: Update to school threat incident

Fairview Park police released an updated statement on the school threat incident from January 19:

After midnight on January 19th, we received information from multiple sources that some Fairview High School/Middle School students had overheard other students talking about causing a disturbance or making an attack at the school at some future date. It was considered to be more as a “joke” or “what-if” conversation, but as talk continued, some felt that a few of the kids were too caught up in the dialogue, and it caused some concern. The school had been notified, advised the people to contact the police, which was done shortly after midnight.

Our officers worked over the weekend to verify the information, to find out the exact nature of this “joke”, and to see if there was any imminent danger. Our officers, with the help and cooperation of the school administration, were able to identify the main participants of this group, discovered through interviewing witnesses and through other means, that there was enough to investigate further.

Since there was no school that Monday due to Martin Luther King Day, our department continued gathering information, and worked with the school administration to come up with a plan on how we were going to proceed. In all of the information that was obtained, over three days of investigation, there was nothing to indicate that there was any danger or likelihood that any violence would occur, nor that there was even any capability of doing so.

On Tuesday, seven officers from the police department were at the school prior to classes starting. All those whom we had identified were confronted and interviewed, some at school and others at various other locations. Over 50 man hours were put in by the police during the course of the day, conducting our investigation and interviews. We were working hand in hand with the school administration during this whole time. The primary goal for both of our agencies was the safety of both students and staff. We have the added goal of prosecuting those involved, if there is found to be any criminal violations.

The school has already put in motion their Board mandated process for handling those involved in this incident. We are still finishing our investigation, and upon conclusion, all information will be forwarded to the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office – Juvenile Division. They will ultimately be the ones to determine if criminal proceedings will be instituted and what those charges will be.

The takeaways from this incident are as follows:

– This was a perfect example of the effectiveness of “See Something, Say Something”. Without the actions of the brave individuals who notified someone about what they felt could be talk of doing harm, neither the schools nor the police would have been aware and able to address the situation. We must continue to encourage everyone to follow that mantra to avert potential threats and also to provide aid to those who are perhaps withdrawing from social contact or have been bullied or abused.

– The schools and the police department worked seamlessly to handle the situation. For several years now we have collaborated with the schools, worked together on the security of staff, students, and buildings, conducted ALICE training for staff/students, given safety talks to students, and worked on creating a positive relationship with the children who attend our schools. This long term collaboration contributed to the successful resolution of the incident.

– Social media can be a good thing at times, but at others, it can amp up hysteria, spread incorrect information, and adversely affect persons if rumors and accusations are put out there before facts are obtained. There were a few comments posted that suggested that students were put in danger by the way we handled this incident. The primary focus of both our department and the schools was the safety of students and staff. Neither of our agencies would have allowed students to come to school if we felt there was any threat of harm. One of our own officers, who knew of the investigation, had no qualms about sending his daughter to school, because he knew that there was no danger.