Gresham High School Lockdown; Police Respond to Reports of Firearms on Campus: According to a statement given to families by the school system, Gresham High School was placed on “secure” status Wednesday due to unconfirmed concerns of guns on campus.
The district defined secure as perimeter doors that are locked and no one is allowed in or out of the building, akin to a lockout. Classes were still going on inside the building, but the district requested that the community not attempt to enter the school.
According to a statement given to families by the school system, Gresham High School was placed on “secure” status Wednesday due to unconfirmed concerns of guns on campus. The district defined secure as perimeter doors that are locked and no one is allowed in or out of the building, akin to a lockout. Classes were still going on inside the building, but the district requested that the community not attempt to enter the school.
In an update to the community on Wednesday, the district stated that “in response to rumours circulating on social media,” it had confirmed that the student engaged in the September incident had not returned to school. It went on to say that neither this student nor anybody else had made any known threats.
Detective Adam Wright of the Gresham Police Department attributed Wednesday’s action to the social media rumour mill.
“This cycle of recirculated online threats and rumours is a phenomenon that has become increasingly common in the social media age,” according to Wright. “Schools that experience a violent or frightening occurrence are frequently swamped with additional/copycat online threats. Rumours and discussions about these threats circulate across the school community. In many circumstances, the same rumour will circulate within the community multiple times as details are slightly altered, enhanced, or deleted with each sharing or recounting.
