Extra police were at Appleton North High School after a vague threat against "North" surfaced on social media. PC: Fox 11 Online
WISCONSIN (WTAQ-WLUK) – Precautions were taken at three Northeast Wisconsin high schools on Wednesday, following reports of a threat of violence being shared on social media. Extra police were stationed at both Appleton and Oshkosh North high schools, while Sheboygan North went into a soft lockdown.
Students at Appleton North High School say attendance was down Wednesday, but security was up after a threat to “shoot up north high school” made its way around social media.
“A lot of people are gone because of the threat and it’s kind of scary to know that there might be a guy with a gun,” said Appleton North student Carter Price.
That same social media threat led to an increase in officers at Oshkosh North High School too.
Lilah Bennett, also from Appleton North said, “I think it could be causing unnecessary panic sometimes, but also it is better to be safe than sorry.”
The extra police presence is just one step being taken by the school districts and police to keep students, staff and the community safe.
“We have these responses that happen all the time to mitigate any threats that may happen,” said Lt. Meghan Cash with Appleton Police. She added, “So it was more so out of abundance of caution knowing that there’s just potential mention. Nothing at this point leading to it actually being Appleton North.”
While Appleton Police, through its investigation, determined the threat, that was so vague wasn’t credible, it still needed to be investigated.
According to Cash, “For us, this is a very serious topic, no different than any other place in our community that someone would make a threat, so the consequences would be pretty high.”
Police still aren’t sure where the threat originated, but when they find out, the person who could be held responsible.
“There could be charges. There could fines. There could be a series of things depending on what that threat is, the credibility of that and any actions that were taken for that,” added Cash.
The Appleton School District didn’t want to comment on the situation because it’s an ongoing investigation.
Oshkosh schools said they are also working with police and only added extra security out of an abundance of caution.
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