County state’s attorneys, city police chiefs and district superintendents released a letter to the community on Thursday afternoon, asking for help regarding sharing threats and rumors.
“We feel the need once again to publicly address the topic of threats against our school communities. In recent weeks, we are aware of incidents that have impacted schools in Naperville District 203, Indian Prairie District 204, and others throughout the region. This is highly concerning. These threats cause significant disruptions to our learning environments, divert substantial resources to investigate, and erode parents’, students’ and staff members’ confidence in their schools being safe environments.”
“Parents, please discuss the topic of school threats with your child in an age-appropriate way and pledge as a family to both report threats to the proper authorities and refrain from sharing threats and rumors with others.”
Leaders are asking for the community to 1) start an open dialogue, 2) report threats of violence, and 3) report, but not repost.
“Start an Open Dialogue We acknowledge that not all threats against our schools originate locally. However, some threats do start with our own students. We encourage parents to have open and honest conversations with their children about the seriousness of making threats against an individual or a school community. Children need to understand that there is no such thing as “joking” about bringing a weapon to school, initiating violence against another, or causing general chaos. As the agencies responsible for the safety of our schools, Aurora and Naperville Police Departments will thoroughly investigate any threats, the DuPage and Will County State’s Attorneys’ Offices will aggressively pursue legal action against perpetrators, and School Districts 203 and 204 will invoke severe discipline, up to and including expulsion.“
“Report Threats of Violence Every member of a school community is responsible for its safety. We encourage everyone to ‘See Something, Say Something’ and ask anyone with information about a threat of violence to bring it to the attention of school administrators and law enforcement. You may be wondering what constitutes a threat. A threat is any expression of intent to harm another. Threats can be spoken, written, communicated using technology, or expressed in other means, such as gestures or body language. Threats can be made directly to the intended victim, communicated to third parties or expressed in ways ranging from verbal threats on phones, writing on public property, in notes, on social media or over text messaging.“
“Report, Not Repost We understand how unsettling it is to think that the safety of your child or your school community is threatened. However, spreading rumored or unverified information has the potential to cause great confusion and anxiety. We strongly encourage parents and students alike to refrain from posting or sharing rumors about threats of violence on social media, text messaging or other means. Instead, report any threat to school administrators and law enforcement and trust that our agencies are doing everything in our power to keep our students, staff, and school communities safe and informed.”
The letter was signed by Jason Arres, Naperville Chief of Police, Keith Cross, Aurora Chief of Police, Robert Berlin, DuPage County State’s Attorney, James Glasgow, Will County State’s Attorney, Dan Bridges, Naperville School District 203 Superintendent and Dr. Adrian Talley, Indian Prairie School District 204 Superintendent.
To read the letter in full, visit ipsd.org.