On May 15 at around 10:35 AM, Portage High School underwent its SECURE safety protocol, a new procedure implemented this year in order to deal with threatening situations. Actions taken were locking all of the doors, not allowing anyone to enter or leave the building, and emailing and calling parents and guardians to debrief on the situation. Classes were allowed to be conducted as normal as the administration and the Portage Police Department investigated the situation.
The reason for the protocol was due to an anonymous phone call made to the school threatening a staff member, though no credible danger was found. The SECURE protocol was lifted at around 11:15 AM after it was determined that students and staff were safe.
Unfortunately, this was not the first time that a false threat of violence was made. On the morning of January 26, 2023, another anonymous caller threatened Portage High School with violence, as well as schools in Valparaiso, Wheeler, and Hobart. Students and staff went under lockdown, locking all doors, turning off the lights, and hiding in designated areas. Immediately, students went into a panic, spreading rumors and messaging loved ones in distress. Similar to the situation on May 15, there was no real danger to the students and staff. Later, it was found by local police departments that the caller was a 16 year old boy from Medina, Ohio, who imperiled several Indiana schools with bomb threats.
In a far more dangerous situation, an undisclosed student attending a Portage Homecoming football game in September of 2021 made the false claim that one of the attendees was armed with a weapon. Believing this threat to be true, fear swept through the bleachers, sending hundreds of attendees swarming from the stadium in a frenzy. This led to many families getting separated, attendees hiding in the concession stands, and students calling their guardians crying. Once again, this was a false threat, a joke to get a rise out of the students, staff, administration, and law enforcement.
Violence has been rising across the nation, and especially within schools. Per a statistic from the organization Everytown for Gun Safety, there have been at least seventy eight incidents of gunfire on American school grounds this year alone. Twenty seven people have died and forty seven have been injured. Last year, there were one hundred and thirty seven incidents of school shootings, with forty two deaths and ninety four injuries nationwide. This is a sharp rise compared to 2013, where there were fifty one shootings (Everytown).
With school shootings on the rise, it is insensitive and harmful to make false threats simply for the joke of it. There are some students and staff who come to school every day, fearing that it is their last. Making these threats only drives their anxiety, not to mention wasting the time and energy of the administration and law enforcement. Schools should be a safe, welcoming place for learning, but these shootings, as well as the threats of violence, have been making them feel more dangerous. Before making such pranks, consider the sense of fear you would have if you were in the situation of someone evading the violence, or perhaps someone who has been hurt or killed in school shootings.
“The Long, Shameful List of Gunfire on School Grounds in America.” Everytown Research & Policy, 28 February 2023, everytownresearch.org/maps/gunfire-on-school-grounds/.
