Parents and students share thoughts on the threat at Thayer Central Community Schools
HEBRON, Neb. (Nebraska) — Thayer Central Community Schools students returned to class Thursday.
Investigators with the Nebraska State Patrol’s Tech Crime Unit and the Thayer County Sheriff’s Office determined the source of a social media threat. The person behind it is in New Mexico and they are now working with the authorities there.
Schools superintendent Randy Page said he closed the school as a precaution following a threat of a suggested shooting that occurred on Friday, Jan. 27.
Page added that consultants would be on site for those who need to process it. In the coming days, law enforcement will also be present on campus.
While the case appears to be closed, some Hebron residents are not convinced of the findings.
A statement from the school and law enforcement said the threat came from out of state and was not credible. Some residents fear it may have come from elsewhere. A parent is also concerned about how the authorities have handled the whole situation.
“I don’t even want to keep sending my kids there,” said Amanda Jacobson, “Just because I don’t think they’ve handled it well and I think it’s still a very real threat and it seems like nobody’s really taking it seriously.
Both of Jacobson’s children attend Thayer Central Community Schools. Her 7-year-old son goes to elementary school and her 3-year-old daughter goes to kindergarten there.
Jacobson also said he wants answers about how law enforcement arrived at their conclusion. Jacobson isn’t the only one rattled by the threat of a school shooting; a grandmother still fears for her grandson’s safety.
“It was really scary,” DeAnn Zoubeck said, “those things don’t happen in Thayer County, Nebraska. Truly! It happens in the biggest schools and stuff, not in Thayer County. I was afraid, many parents were afraid, rather not knowing whether to send him to school or not. Because I probably wouldn’t have sent it anyway.
Zoubeck said that even with law enforcement present at the school, she is still concerned for her grandson’s safety. Her granddaughter, Kayden Zoubeck, is in sixth grade at Thayer Central Community Schools and didn’t understand why anyone would threaten their school.
“I don’t think it was really cool, that someone threatened our school and I don’t even know why they did it,” Kayden said. “This is just nonsense.”
Kayden said she thinks the school should have metal detectors to help keep students safe. Her grandmother thinks the school should take responsibility for how she handled the situation.
“Apologies,” Zoubeck said, “To the parents and everything else, for not having a plan in place in case that happens. This is what I think.”
Zoubeck said the students were not sent home with any school work to continue their lesson plan and the school handled it as a day-to-day situation. Parents and guardians did not find out whether or not the children were in school until late in the evening.
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