Mass Shooting Threat Causes Widespread School Closures In Missouri

BLUE SPRINGS, MO — A person is in custody after threats of a mass shooting in the Kansas City area led at least eight school systems to cancel summer classes Wednesday, according to authorities.

Law enforcement in Blue Springs, Missouri, received a report Tuesday about a suspicious Snapchat post involving a comment threatening “killing people — mass murdering,” police said, noting that no location was specified.

A suspect was taken into custody and charges were pending as of Wednesday morning, according to police.

“There is no threat to the public and as in all threats of violence, our top priority is to keep the community safe,” police said in a news release.

Prior to the suspect’s apprehension, the Blue Springs School District said in a Facebook post that the FBI had confirmed the person was dangerous and their whereabouts were unknown. The threat came about three weeks after a school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, resulted in the deaths of 19 students and two teachers.

The Blue Springs School District, which is east of Kansas City, canceled summer school and other programs and activities Wednesday, as did school systems in Lee’s Summit, Independence (including the Fort Osage School District), Grain Valley, Oak Grove, Odessa and Lone Jack.