Threat prompts protective action at Grants High School
GRANTS, N.M. – A disturbing trend on social media platform Tik Tok called for December 17 to be “National Shoot Up Your School Day” this, coupled with a threat alleging that “GHS” would be the site of a shooting, led to an elevated law enforcement presence at Grants High School and heightened response by law enforcement agencies across the county.
“We needed to show that these threats were not going to disrupt the learning process, and we are going to keep the kids safe,” Cibola County Sheriff Tony Mace said. Grants Police Department teamed up with CCSO to ensure the protection of the children at Grants High School.
“The threat was a determined to be an unsubstantiated credible threat,” the sheriff said, what lent credibility to this threat was the direct mention of “GHS” being attacked. The Cibola County Sheriff’s Office and Grants Police Department went straight to work to ensure the safety of the students.
GPD set a command center at Grants High, while CCSO began an investiga tion to discover where the threat originated and if it was focused on the GHS in Cibola. After some investigation they determined the threat was for a school in Tucson, Arizona, not Grants, New Mexico. Despite confirmation that the threat was not to Grants High, law enforcement maintained a heavy presence at the high school to ensure the safety of students.
“These pranksters don’t realize the impact a threat like this has on the community,” Sheriff Mace said, explaining that law enforcement resources were tied up protecting the school, and resources for both the City of Grants and Cibola County were drained. There are serious, real world consequences for threats alleging violence against a school or other students, and Cibola’s law enforcement will learn about them, and take appropriate action to ensure the safety of all Cibola’s students.
The two agencies worked to increase situational awareness and provide a tactical perimeter so agents could respond quickly and appropriately to any nefarious action. There were no incidents of violence at the school and officers were successful in their mission of keeping student’s safe.
This joint operation by Cibola’s local law enforcement allowed for a tactical perimeter around the school and quick response time for any issues that may arise.
CCSO and GPD praised Grants-Cibola County School District’s cooperative and swift efforts to secure the safety of students. With the help of the district superintendent, GHS principal, and other administrative staff, the safety of students was secured.