NORTH CANTON -- Authorities in Stark County have requested assistance from the FBI and the Ohio Department of Public Safety Homeland Security to investigate a shooting threat made against North Canton Middle School.
Police say the message had been posted on a social networking site called ask.fm., which allows users to pose questions from other users on the site or from anonymous users.
An eighth grader received the message that threatened somebody would shoot up the North Canton Middle School on Thursday. The post, according to authorities, was done through an international proxy that permits one to surf the Web anonymously and hides their IP address.
The student took a screen shot of it and posted to Instagram, which later caught the attention of other students and concerned parents. In a news conference Thursday, North Canton Police Chief Stephen Wilder said the post had been later deleted.
In response, additional officers have been stationed at all North Canton City Schools, which include: North Canton Middle School, North Canton Hoover High School, Orchard Hill Intermediate School, Greentown Intermediate School, Northwood Elementary School, Clearmount Elementary School and St. Paul's Holy Cross Academy.
Superintendent Stephen Wilder said attendance was about 50 percent at the middle school.
No charges are being filed at this time.
Anybody who can provide information regarding the threatening message is asked to contact authorities at 330-499-5911 or 330-966-3633.
Police and school officials have activated the following protocols:
- Treat all threats seriously.
- Investigate the incident promptly and efficiently.
- Use support staff and external resources as a part of a multidisciplinary threat assessment team to evaluate this threat.
- Take appropriate disciplinary and criminal enforcement steps.
- Document the threat and actions taken.
- Enhance security measures, as appropriate, to insure the safety of all students, staff and facilities.
