PARIS, Ky. (LEX 18) — The school day started as usual at Paris Independent High School Thursday morning. The only difference: extra police on patrol.
“To hear stuff like that, it’s worrisome,” said Jonathan Snowden, the parent of an 8th and 9th grader.
He’s talking about a reported school threat, which families first learned about late Wednesday night in an email from Superintendent Stephen McCauley.
Thursday morning, they were told Paris police determined there was no danger. In fact, Superintendent McCauley says the situation stemmed from a student’s comment that was taken out of context. He says multiple students and parents reached out to school staff to alert them about the comment, and that’s when administrators got in contact with police.
McCauley described the situation as a misunderstanding and a “non-issue” but said he appreciated people coming forward.
Superintendent @SchoolsParis says they asked police to investigate a potential threat at the high school. They found it was a misunderstanding, after a comment was taken out of context. Extra police here this morning, just to be safe. @LEX18News pic.twitter.com/O6Cb0tiTDb
— Evelyn Schultz (@EvelynSchultzTV) September 23, 2021
“That’s a great culture we have here at Paris,” the superintendent said. “To say, hey, if we see something, we’re gonna say something and tell an adult.”
While investigators determined the threat wasn’t real, Snowden told LEX 18 the situation is still scary.
“It’s disturbing,” he said. “It gets you worried, gets me worried. I want to know my kids are safe, and they don’t have nothing to worry about.”
But he dropped his kids off Thursday morning, feeling grateful for the school’s response.
“If it was me, I’d take it super serious,” he said. “You’ve got other people’s kids, and you’re responsible for them. You gotta be vigilant, and super safe.”
You can read the superintendent’s message to parents on Facebook.
