On Thursday evening the Greenwich Schools Superintendent Dr. Toni Jones emailed Greenwich Schools families about an incident that took place earlier in the day at Greenwich High School
Dr. Jones said it was understandable that students, staff, and families, especially those at GHS, experienced a level of high anxiety over the incident.
Earlier in the day Greenwich Police released a statement saying that there had been a disturbing message on a GHS girls bathroom wall and that out of an abundance of caution they had detailed officers and detectives to assist the School Resource Officers.
Police contacted local media to say there was misleading information on social media, and clarified that there were no arrests relating to the incident.
Dr. Jones said the district had worked directly with police who mobilized their team immediately.
“We are asking to work together as a community to stop the spread of rumors about dangerous weapons, using individual student names, and other social media untruths which are circulating about today’s events,” Jones said in the email.
Jones shared the following facts to dispel falsehoods circulating in the community.
- The message found in a GHS bathroom was discovered Thursday morning.
- Greenwich Police were called and their response time was immediate.
- There were no additional messages or threats to any of the schools in our district.
- There were no guns or weapons found at the school.
- There were no arrests regarding this situation as the email Thursday evening.
“This morning, it had been determined that there was no imminent threat. Greenwich Police have now told us that they are investigating several leads to identify the person or persons who left the message. We will update the community again as we receive more information,” she added. “Adding more stress to this situation, some students and staff saw an ambulance at the front of the school as this situation was unfolding. The ambulance was responding to a separate medical situation at GHS, totally unrelated to this incident.”
Jones said the school will have additional counseling support for students on Friday. She acknowledged the incident caused a great deal of anxiety.
In addition, she said there will be a greater police presence at the High School on Friday to help students and staff feel safe and secure.
“We want students to know that the building is safe and that we would not hesitate to cancel school if there were concerns,” she added.
Jones suggested families reach out to their school administrators with feedback or concerns. She said her desire was to keep lines of communication between families, staff and the district open.
“And as always, with every situation, we will continue to analyze our procedures and protocols,” Jones said. “Some GHS students have requested a remote day tomorrow to decompress, but as a reminder, remote days are not allowed this year except for health-related quarantines or isolations.”
On Thursday night Greenwich Police Tweeted a request for tips.
Original Story
Disturbing Message on GHS Girls Bathroom Wall Under Investigation Dec 9, 2021