No Threat At Oswego High School After Social Media Rumors: Police

OSWEGO, IL — Oswego Police spent Tuesday morning investigating rumors of an act of violence at Oswego High School before determining that there was no threat to the safety of students or staff at the school.

Police did not divulge the specific nature of the rumors or what they were told about the possible violent act in a social media post. A department spokesperson said that there were several social media rumors about activity at the school, which prompted police to investigate the rumors.

Early Tuesday afternoon, police said that threats of violence had been mentioned on social media several weeks ago in a neighboring community. However, police said there is no connection to the violence taking place at Oswego schools and that there is no threat of violence at the schools as was being investigated.

The spokesperson said that police worked with school officials on Tuesday morning and “have investigated to the fullest extent” and have found that there are no threats or safety issues at the school, police said.

“We appreciate the public coming forward and providing information they have seen and heard,” police said in the social media post. “ As always, when you see something, say something to the proper authorities. We do discourage going to social media to spread speculation.”

In a message to Oswego High School families Tuesday morning, district officials thanked those who brought concerns about the social media posts regarding the possible threat. Like with the police, district officials said that those who see such social media posts should not react to the post in a public way to spread false rumors that could prove harmful to the greater community.

"This behavior hinders our ability to efficiently sort through and review reports to uncover factual and helpful information," district officials wrote in the message to local families. "We strive to keep the line of communication open between the school and parents, and will always reach out to you when a serious situation occurs that could impact the health and safety of students or staff. We partner closely with our school resource officers to investigate reported concerns and to remain proactive in our effort to keep our school safe."

Police said that the public should be assured that if there was a danger to a school or to the public all necessary notifications would be made.