Sean C. Morgan
Schools feel fallout from rumors after Connecticut killings
The world didn’t end last Friday, and Thursday came and went with no problems at Sweet Home schools, other than a lock-down at Sweet Home High School following a bank robbery.
Sweet Home police and School District 55 took extra precautions Thursday when rumors of an impending school shooting filtered into Sweet Home area social media posting. The rumor had been circulating on social media throughout the state last week.
Some parents kept their children home from school Thursday.
Sweet Home High School had about 68 percent attendance, said Principal Keith Winslow. For the most part, he believed students were staying home because of the rumor. All of the teachers were at school.
“And many of our teachers have kids here too,” he said. “Things were pretty safe.”
Winslow said district officials understand why some parents kept their students home.
“Oregon police agencies began tracking potential threats earlier this week after another rural school district learned via social media sources of rumored threats to their school district,” said Sweet Home Police Chief Bob Burford. “Those rumors indicated a possible shooting could occur on Friday. The basis of the rumors were tied to the end of the ‘Mayan Calendar.’ From there the social media rumors began to spread to multiple other Oregon communities spread across the state.”
In Eugene a high school student was charged with first-degree disorderly conduct after allegedly making threats against a teacher and students and two other high school students, who had falsely been rumored to be planning to bring guns to school, were interviewed by police, the Register-Guard newspaper reported. According to news reports, hundreds of students in Portland stayed home due to circulating rumors.
Local police were aware of the rumors in other areas of the state early on Wednesday, Burford said, and they believed Sweet Home had “dodged a bullet.” They learned differently later that day, when the School District contacted the department.
Sweet Home School District officials contacted the Sweet Home Police Department after the Facebook and Twitter postings apparently reached the area on Wednesday, Burford said.
“District officials contacted students involved with the postings and learned that they were repeating rumors from social media posted from other areas outside of our community. The only change to the Sweet Home postings was the date had moved up to Thursday, since no school is in session for Friday.
“We’re aware of it across the state and into other states. It certainly didn’t start in Sweet Home.”
The posts simply identify the target of the shooting as “the school,” he said. Most of the posts are simply repeats of the same posts.
Police started Thursday with a visible presence at all schools in town, and Burford went out to Holley School, located southwest of Sweet Home.
The police had to rotate officers differently following a robbery at Umpqua Bank and other calls, but police maintained assignments at the schools, attended two assemblies and ate cookies with the students, Burford said.
After the robbery, “we locked down the high school (for about 45 minutes) because it was in the direct vicinity of the area where the suspect was last fleeing toward,” said Det. Cyndi Pichardo.
That was the only school that was locked down that day, said Supt. Don Schrader.
Linn County Sheriff’s Office assisted with the robbery investigation, Pichardo said, helping the SHPD maintain assignments at the schools. The assignments just changed a bit. Two officers came back from vacation to help with the school assignments.
“It was perfect,” Winslow said of the lock-down. “The kids were outstanding, cooperative, relaxed and took it in stride. It was as smooth as it could have gone really.”
He also complimented the police for their efforts.
At the end of the day, there were no incidents and no false reports at the schools, Pichardo said.
“It didn’t have anything to do with our school, fortunately,” Winslow said. “It sounds like it’s going across the country, really. Who knows where it originated? We spent much of the day looking into the rumors. Students kept coming to us all day long.”
Bank robbery sparks manhunt, lock-down at Sweet Home HS
Sweet Home Police Officer Ryan Cummings surveys the Umpqua Bank parking lot half an hour after the robbery
Sweet Home police are searching for a suspect who robbed Umpqua Bank in Sweet Home Thursday morning.
According to Police Chief Bob Burford, at approximately 10:08 a.m. officers responded to an armed bank robbery at the bank, 1890 Main St.
Burford said initial reports indicate the suspect as being male, wearing a baggy sweatshirt over a red tee shirt, light blue jeans, white shoes and a face mask. The suspect was also carrying a purse-like container.
“We’re actively pursuing leads and information as it comes in and have reached out to other agencies regarding tips we’ve received to identify the suspect,” said Det. Cyndi Pichardo.
Burford said the suspect displayed a handgun inside the bank.
“The suspect fled with an undisclosed amount of money,” Pichardo said.
Police declined to say how much money was stolen to protect their investigation.
The suspect was last seen running west on foot toward the downtown area, Burford said. Sweet Home police officers, aided by Linn County deputies, immediately attempted to locate the suspect, spreading through the downtown.
“We made contact with several businesses in the downtown area in an attempt to locate any witnesses who may have observed the suspect fleeing the area,” Pichardo said.
As a result of the incident, the Sweet Home High School, located within a few blocks of the bank, was placed on lock-down for approximately 45 minutes for safety reasons, Burford said.