BUCKEYE, AZ — A concerning trend of school threats, both locally and across the nation, has parents asking their school leaders what can be done.
Tuesday night, parents and leaders from the Liberty Elementary School District came together with the Buckeye Police Department, Goodyear Police Department, and Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office to talk about school safety.
“We live in a day and age now where it seems these things seem to be very commonplace, so we really want to open those channels of communication,” Superintendent Cort Monroe said. “We've seen a rash of things happen in the news in the past two or three weeks, where parents want to feel heard.”
While Monroe said his district hasn’t seen many threats, dozens of online school threats have been made in districts across the state and the Valley, including schools nearby in Buckeye, Phoenix, Maricopa, Glendale, and Surprise.
Last week three teens were arrested for making threats: a 14-year-old student in Surprise, a 13-year-old from a Buckeye elementary school and a 17-year-old Buckeye high school student.
Goodyear police say they’re currently investigating a recent school threat in their area. Chief Brian Issitt says the threats are coming from online.
“A lot of the threats that we're seeing are either through social media or their text messages exchanged through students,” Issitt said.
Issitt tells ABC15 he wants parents and students to speak up if they see something online and to keep an open line of communication with their local school resource officer or school district leaders.
“Anytime we receive a threat, we're immediately investigating it and taking action if needed,” Issitt said. “Bring it to us or bring it to the school so that we can ensure that everybody is safe.”
Parent Cally Solomon wants to see more training in schools. She brought her suggestions for an “Active Violence Response Course” to the district and police leaders Tuesday.
“It's very frustrating and it's very scary as a parent, just with all the threats that are going on right now,” Solomon said. “I truly feel like there needs to be some type of active shooter training for all staff that wants the training. It doesn't need to be mandatory. I just feel like active shooter training is very important in all schools.”
