Washington school district lifts ‘hold’ after finding threat was unfounded

The Washington Community School District placed its buildings in a “hold” Thursday, Feb. 5 while law enforcement investigated a potential threat to the schools.

Superintendent Willie Stone stated in a message shared Thursday that the district initiated this safety protocol after receiving a report that a student might bring a weapon to school.

“Our priority is always the safety of our students and staff, and we believe in acting immediately whenever a potential threat is reported,” he wrote. “The local police department was contacted immediately and, in collaboration with the district, conducted a thorough investigation. That investigation found the threat to be unfounded.”

Stone noted that, upon learning the threat was unfounded, the district lifted the hold and normal school operations resumed.

“We understand that these situations can be stressful, but we are incredibly proud of how professionally our staff handled the protocol and how calmly our students responded,” he wrote. “Even though this instance turned out to be a misunderstanding, we would much rather investigate a situation that is determined, after investigation, to be unfounded than not address a potential risk.”

Stone clarified that Stewart Elementary School did not go into a hold, but that was because of a communication malfunction. He said the district will address the malfunction “immediately.”