Gasconade County R-2 Superintendent Dr. Jeri Kay Hardy said Monday that district officials and law enforcement are still investigating a shooting threat that resulted in classes being canceled on Friday.

“(Mr. John Bunch, assistant principal) and (Mr. Kris Altemeyer, principal) are still investigating,” Hardy said Monday morning. “I hope we know (who the suspect is) before Christmas break.”

Local, county and state law enforcement, including the Missouri State Highway Patrol (MSHP), were present at the Gasconade R-2 campus early Friday morning to search the buildings. No threatening items were located. Officials left campus to go to the Administration Building for a short meeting and then view video footage facing the restrooms at the high school where the graffiti was found.

After viewing video footage on Dec. 17 with the MSHP, Hardy said they have the names of 230 students who used either the male or female restrooms where the threats were written on the wall.

“The traffic was consistent between classes, and we couldn’t tell that it was busier towards the end of the day,” Hardy said. “They are still working through it.”

Hardy said officials expect to find the person responsible. 

“Then we will have to deal with that under the Handbook for threats,” she said. “It will go to law enforcement also.”

She added that the graffiti could be considered terrorism.

“Children and the elderly are seen as the two most vulnerable populations,” Hardy said. “This could be considered a terrorist threat. So that is where the state wants to file charges if they find who (it was).”

Hardy also warned against falsely reporting information.

“If there are false reports being made, people saying they saw something when they didn’t, it could result in further disciplinary action — it’s in our Handbook under false alarm,” Hardy said. “If you tell someone you saw something that you didn’t see — someone told you it was there then you misreported the information and you really didn’t know — it could be a false report. If it invokes fear it could be a false alarm.”

The law enforcement investigation and school investigation remain separate.

The MSHP emailed a letter Dec. 15 notifying schools across the state of a potential shooting threat. District officials emailed parents a separate letter through the notification system, sharing the information and specifically notifying parents they had not received a direct threat.

On Dec. 16, between 1:15 and 2:27 p.m. a student discovered text written on a bathroom wall that said someone was going to shoot up the school. The student took pictures of the text and sent it to their parents. Eventually pictures of the text were posted on social media.

“When the images were posted to social media, no one called the police or an administrator,” Hardy said. “That is a little concerning. I wish that if that happens and you don’t want to contact administrators, call the police. I was alerted at 2:27 p.m. (when it was reported to the Courage to Alert system) and it was posted (on social media) at 1:15 p.m.”

Some social media posts reported that the schools were in lockdown because students were locked into their classrooms. Hardy said students were never in lockdown. Instead, the district reinstated pre-COVID safety measures.

“If you think about it, with COVID, we have been almost two years into COVID when they were talking about keeping doors open for air circulation,” Hardy said. “It’s been two years since doors were closed when students went into a classroom and they may not remember what it was like prior to that.”

Officers were in and out of the buildings on Thursday. All four buildings were searched on Friday while students were home. Monday morning, Hardy said attendance was good.

“Friday we were out, but we were above 91 percent at all buildings today,” Hardy said on Monday. “Just like any major event, the first day back is the most apprehensive. People are most nervous. We are doing everything we can to keep kids safe. We have law enforcement that are coming during drop off and pick-up, throughout the day they are invited in to do walk-throughs. Teachers are doing their safety protocols.” 

In neighboring Maries County R-2 School District in Bland and Belle, students went to class as usual and enjoyed Christmas parties before the break began at the end of the day.

Superintendent Dr. Lenice Basham had said Thursday that letters would not be sent out to families that would risk drawing more attention to the threat.

“We have not sent something out,” Basham said Dec. 15. “We felt it was a very generic warning.”

She added that teachers and staff had been made aware of the threat.

“We are always concerned about sending something out that kids don’t know about and then making them aware,” Basham said. “We are trying to be cautious about not creating more conversation with the kids about it.”

They took extra precautions in the classroom, made sure everything was locked up and followed safety precautions in the classroom, reviewing procedures for that incident. Basham said the school resource officer was present and the Maries County and Bland police departments were present at both campuses. “I just know the SRO has been arranging things and everyone is aware and they have procedures in place for tomorrow,” she said.

Basham said the suggested threat was very generic and looked more like it was telling kids not to come to school versus an actual threat.

“Of course we want to take precautions,” she said.

Following classes on Friday, Basham commented that everything went good. “We made it through the day and attendance was above 90 percent, ”Basham said.

Basham said on Friday that the morning went well and the school resource officer (SRO) officer stayed vigilant.

“The high school had extra patrols,” she said. “Doors were locked at the administration building and the SRO did regular checks.”

An unannounced backpack check came at both the high school and middle school by the Maries County Sheriff’s Office. When officials left, locks were on the interior and exterior doors. Basham said they will be more cautious in the future.