A JOINT COMMUNICATION REGARDING RECENT SCHOOL THREATS
Over the last few weeks, the Sheriff's Office and Spotsylvania County Public Schools (SCPS) have investigated numerous reports of threats involving shooting schools. The recent school threats were not isolated to Spotsylvania County and were problematic across the nation. The Sheriff's Office and Spotsylvania County Public Schools take all reports of threats seriously. The threats received in Spotsylvania have been exhaustively investigated through cooperative information sharing between SCPS and the Sheriff's Office and action taken as per the Student Code of Conduct and the Virginia Code. In the past two weeks, six juveniles have been arrested and remanded to the Juvenile Detention Center as a result of these investigations.
As noted below in the Virginia Code, making verbal or written threats is a severe offense that arises to a Felony degree.
Virginia Code 18.2-60, "Threats of death or bodily injury to a person or member of his family; threats of death or bodily injury to persons on school property; threats of death or bodily injury to health care providers; penalty. A. 1. Any person who knowingly communicates, in a writing, including an electronically transmitted communication producing a visual or electronic message, a threat to kill or do bodily injury to a person, regarding that person or any member of his family, and the threat places such person in reasonable apprehension of death or bodily injury to himself or his family member, is guilty of a Class 6 felony. However, any person who violates this subsection with the intent to commit an act of terrorism as defined in § 18.2-46.4 is guilty of a Class 5 felony.
The Spotsylvania Sheriff's Office and Spotsylvania County Public Schools urge all parents to speak with their child about the severe consequences of making threats even if it is done as a joke. Additionally, to reduce the spread of unconfirmed or inaccurate information, we ask that everyone refrain from reposting information about the threats on social media.
The safety of our students and staff is our priority. We remind everyone that if they see something, to say something. Please immediately report concerns and threats to the Sheriff's Office or School Administrators. Thank you for your assistance in keeping our school campuses a safe environment for all Spotsylvania County students, staff, and families.