A pair of school districts in Indiana closed schools Thursday following threats directed at their institutions.
First reported by Reuters, school districts in Danville and Plainfield received threats and decided to shutter their doors out of caution. The districts serve about 2,500 and 5,400 students, respectively.
"Due to newly received threats toward the school system received overnight, Danville schools will be CLOSED Thurs, Dec 17 for students & staff," DCSC Warriors, the official Twitter account for the Danville Community School Corporation, tweeted Thursday morning. A similar message was posted to the district’s Facebook page, informing students and faculty that school will resume in January.
The messages followed a Facebook post from the superintendent of the Danville district Wednesday night that said administrators had investigated an "unconfirmed rumor" that a student had planned to bring a gun to school Thursday.
"This investigation involved questioning of all suspects and a search of the residences of those alleged to be involved. No credible evidence has been revealed to support this rumor. Danville Schools and the Danville Police take these types of situations very seriously," superintendent Tracey Shafer wrote, adding that school would take place as scheduled with increased police presence.
The messages Thursday morning alerting students, parents, and faculty about the closure made no mention of the gun threat.
Meanwhile, Plainfield officials wrote on their website that "a threat has been directed to the high school, and the safety and security of all students is our highest priority." Officials further stated that an investigation was underway.
The school district closures come two days after the Los Angeles Unified School District closed allow of its schools after receiving a terror threat involving a bomb. Officials in New York City have said that they received the same threat but decided it was a hoax.
Districts in Texas and Florida also received threats of violence Thursday but kept schools open and implemented increased security.