‘False threat’ causes increased security at Muscogee County school

A Muscogee County school notified students and parents Friday afternoon that an alleged threat was determined to be not legitimate, but enough concern was raised to increase the level of campus security.

In an email, the Columbus High School administration said, “As some of you may have heard, we received notification of a possible threat to a high school with the initials ‘CHS’ accompanied with a picture. This has been investigated by Muscogee County Security and it was determined that it was a false threat. We take all information like this seriously and as a precaution, we will have enhanced security on campus for the rest of the day. “

The Ledger-Enquirer sought more details about what happened. Muscogee County School District communications director Mercedes Parham didn’t answer the L-E’s questions in her emailed reply, except to say, “A false threat means there was no threat made.”

The “CHS” caused alarm at schools with those initials throughout the nation. So answers were more forthcoming from school districts such as the one in San Angelo, Texas.

According to a report posted Friday morning on GoSanAngelo.com, the San Angelo Independent School District, which has a a school named Central High School, posted on its Facebook page, “Late Thursday night, we were made aware of a Snapchat containing pictures of a threat to CHS.”

The website added in its report, “According to the district, the picture of a Clovis New Mexico high school student was originally posted earlier in the year, and that student was subsequently arrested in April.”

Across the Chattahoochee River from Columbus, there’s another CHS at another Central High School. Phenix City Schools superintendent Randy Wilkes told the Ledger-Enquirer in an email late Friday afternoon, “We were notified of the social media post around 7:30 a.m. We increased awareness and remained on high alert.”

A student saw the post on social media and reported it to an administrator, Wilkes said.

Mark Rice, 706-576-6272, @MarkRiceLE.

This story was originally published October 19, 2018 at 2:16 PM.