Charlottesville School Closings: FBI Investigates Online Threat As All Classes Suspended

All Charlottesville City Schools in Virginia will remain closed Thursday as the police look into a threat made against one of the institutions.

The following alert was sent out by the Charlottesville School district, Wednesday: “The Charlottesville Police Department and other authorities continue to investigate the internet threat against Charlottesville High School. They have not yet determined the credibility of the threat. Consequently, we will close all Charlottesville City Schools tomorrow, Thursday, March 21. Again, the safety of our staff and students is our first priority. Have a good night, and we’ll update you tomorrow as we learn more.”

The decision to keep all the schools in the city closed for a day was taken after the Charlottesville Police Department (CPD) received an email from a concerned citizen, around 3 p.m. local time EDT, who tipped off the authorities of an existing threat against Charlottesville High School made by an unidentified person through an image posted online.

CPD was closely working with the school division, Virginia State Police, and the FBI to determine the credibility of the threat. On Wednesday, Charlottesville Police Chief RaShall Brackney said detectives would work through the night to trace the source of the threat.

“After evaluating all of the information that we've received to date, understanding that all of these threats should be taken seriously due to the nature of it, the content of it, and how specific the threat was, the Charlottesville schools have decided to close all of the schools in the district as we evaluate and continue to gather information,” Brackney said, NBC29 reported.

The school district also sent out a letter to the parents.

“We wanted to make you aware of a situation that we are monitoring closely this evening. Earlier this evening, we were notified by the Charlottesville Police Department of an Internet threat concerning Charlottesville High School for tomorrow. The CPD and other authorities are investigating this situation, and we will give you an update later tonight. CPD has cleared us to have evening activities tonight, but to allay any concerns, we will have a police presence on hand. Please know that we are working closely with CPD, and the safety of students and staff is our top priority,” the letter said.

The school division and city police said they will update the public of more information regarding the threat as the investigation progresses. Meanwhile, anyone with information was requested to contact the tip line at (434) 970-3280 or call the Crime Stoppers at 977-4000.

This news comes days after the principal of Walton Middle School, Virginia, sent an email alert to parents, Monday, regarding a threat against the school that was made by a student on Facebook. “We recently had a threat reported to us and we immediately conducted a thorough investigation, including notifying and working with the police department. As the result of these actions, no credible threat to the safety of our students and staff was found to have existed,” the email read in part, CBS 19 News reported.