School related threats are on the rise, law enforcement officials say

Law enforcement officials are reporting an increase of school related threats across the state and across the country.

According to Oneida County Sheriff Rob Maciol, several of these threats are shared via social media platforms, which often include photos of firearms and some sort written message.

“The threats generally use vague wording or phrasing and/or includes a range of Schools or Districts,” the Sheriff’s Office said in a released statement.

Although there have been local threats documented in the past, Sheriff Maciol says many of the school districts involved so far with this trending increase are not within Oneida County or even in New York State.

“Each time a threat has been reported, it has been investigated working in conjunction with our School Districts and other local Law Enforcement agencies,” the Sheriff’s Office added. “All recent threats received have been deemed non-credible.”

The Oneida County Sheriff’s Office is committed to ensuring the safety of our schools and communities. Please take the time to speak to your school-aged children to ensure that any information that they might find concerning is being reported rather than shared with other students.

The importance of this is so that these threats may be investigated in a timely manner and also to reduce misinformation being spread amongst students in school, which creates panic.

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