Social Media Threat Targets Shaker

A post, made Thursday, was aimed at the high school and middle school

Josh Levin, Web Design Editor|June 3, 2022

A statement on shaker.org announced that a social media threat was made against the high school and middle school on Thursday.

The statement said that the threat was made but that operations would continue. “There will be heightened security presence and additional police presence in the District tomorrow,“ it stated.

According to Principal Eric Juli, the individuals in question made threats of gun violence on social media targeting both the middle school and the high school.

“We were made aware in the middle of the day yesterday that there were some threats on social media that we started investigating,” Dr. David Glasner, Superintendent, said. According to Glasner, the district contacted the Shaker Heights Police Department immediately.

The SHPD identified the individuals during the night, as is reflected in Friday morning’s updated statement. Glasner said that the SHPD identified the individuals to the district, but would not comment on whether the individuals were students or not.

“Operations at both school buildings will proceed as normal, with heightened security presence and additional police presence in the District,“ the updated statement said. According to Glasner, additional security measures include administrators and staff placed throughout the building, including Juli and Glasner, as well as a heightened police presence around the school.

Last week, Shaker students walked out in response to gun violence in Uvalde, Texas. Glasner said that the district takes threats seriously regardless of current events, but that recent shootings draw attention to them even more than usual. “There is a lot more attention being paid to incidents and threats like these given, like you said, the proximity to Uvalde and other recent mass shootings,” Glasner said.

At the beginning of this year, a threat delayed High School classes for nearly three hours, with students held on the turf of the high school’s Rupp Stadium.

“The District takes every threat seriously and will not tolerate disruption of our learning environment,” the statement said. “As always, we ask all parents, staff, children and community members to be alert to suspicious activity, and contact the school administrator and/or police immediately if anything unusual is observed or heard.”

The Shakerite will continue to cover this story as it develops.