WINDHAM, Maine — Students were in school Wednesday at Windham High School despite a student’s serious threat Tuesday to school administrators.
The student posted the threat on Twitter, writing, “If administration at Windham high continues to treat students the way they are, they’re asking to be the next columbine.”
Windham’s superintendent, Sandy Price, says a student saw the post and told his teacher about it. The teacher reported it to administrators, who then called police. Windham police say they were able to find the student who posted it within an hour and a half. Windham’s superintendent says he decided to not cancel school after police met with the student.
“Dependent upon what we found out last night, police and school department worked quickly on this and police found the source of where this came from, so at that point in time we did not see it as an immediate threat,” Price said.
Police say the student does not have access to weapons and that the student and family are cooperating. Windham’s principal, Chris Howell, says while he’s happy students and parents came forward after seeing the threat, he’s disappointed it happened. He says they have had assemblies on safety with speakers including the parent of a Columbine victim.
“Rachel Scott, who was actually the first victim of Columbine, her dad has been to the school twice, Daryl, to give whole school assemblies to talk about not only the impact to his life but also the lives of all the students at Columbine,” Howell said. “So to use that specific piece, it’s disheartening because students know the seriousness of that.”
Howell says the student who made that threat is not in school Wednesday and that this continues to be a school disciplinary matter and a police investigation.