NEBRASKA CITY – The Otoe County Sheriff’s Office says a nationwide social media threat caused concern Thursday morning for Syracuse High School, but authorities say there is no credible threat for any school in Nebraska.
Deputy Sgt. Joe Rehrs was alerted this morning to a Facebook post saying “SHS” is the school I want and telling people there will be shooting tomorrow.
Rehrs: “I’ve been in contact with the Nebraska State Patrol criminal investigation division and they have looked into it because they received the same information this morning. They looked into it and determined the threat originated in Ohio and have determined there is really no credible threat to any local area schools in Otoe County.”
Ohio officials reported Thursday morning that a juvenile female in Springfield, Ohio, admitted to sending out the post under the name “Ray Andres.”
Rehrs said the post spread rapidly on social media, especially at schools like Syracuse where the SHS comment appeared to apply.
Rehrs: “Investigators suspect this individual, who is responsible for this message, is trying to cause nationwide panic in schools because of the recent events in Florida.”
Despite reports that the sender of the message is in custody, authorities continued to respond to community reaction.
Rehrs: “Tomorrow the sheriff’s office will have deputy presence at Syracuse High School just to make sure parents are comfortable with the situation and know that we are available for any questions they may have.”
Rehrs said threats against schools are not unheard of in Nebraska, but appear to be happening more frequently due to current national trends.
Syracuse Reacts To National “SHS” School Threat
