Rumors at Soldotna Prep and then social media posts about Soldotna High School had school administrators, and ultimately law enforcement, on high alert Wednesday and Thursday because of the threat of gun violence.
Kenai Peninsula Borough School District Communications Director Pegge Erkeneff said students at Soldotna Preparatory School first alerted their school office of the rumors advising students to stay home on Thursday.
“Some students reported to the principal that there was an alleged general threat. And the principal followed all the protocols and went through a behavior threat assessment and ddid an investigation. It was determined that it was not a threat, and at that point, that was kind of the end of it.”
But later in the day, a rumor started that SoHi was the targeted school.
“Some point early evening there was some social media posts that said that Soldotna High School would not be safe the next day and for everybody to be careful. So students were concerned and they began telling their parents, which then instigated a lot of phone calls.”
At that point, Erkeneff said, Soldotna Police were called in.
“The law enforcement did confirm that there was no verified threat that was substantiated and that the rumors were just that: rumors. We knew that people and parents were concerned about sending their children to school, so we did have an increased presence at the schools.”
She said it would be up to the individual schools’ principals to decide if they desire an increased police presence on-campus tomorrow.
