On Friday, 10-04-19, the School Resource Officer at Fox Chapel Middle School, Deputy David Oliphant, was made aware that a student on campus made statements during a class that caused concern to those who were able to overhear the statements.
Deputy Oliphant promptly launched an investigation, speaking with all witnesses and the student in question. The student admitted to making a statement that may have been taken out of context, but also stated that he had no intentions of committing any act(s) of violence or doing harm to any person on the campus.
As with all investigations of this nature, patrol deputies responded to the student’s residence to check for access to weapons, suspicious items, etc. Upon arrival, the student’s parents were extremely cooperative, allowing deputies to search the residence.
During the search, deputies located nothing to indicate the student had any intention of, or the ability to, carry out an act of violence. The “threat” was deemed not credible and a report documented.
On 10-06-19, the Hernando County Sheriff’s Office received information regarding a social media post advising students not to go to school on Monday, as there may be some type of violence on the campus.
Again, deputies launched an investigation. It is believed that the social media post that surfaced earlier today is a result of the incident that occurred on Friday and was previously investigated.
Deputies again responded to the residence of the student in question (from the Friday incident) to search the residence for any weapons, access to weapons, etc. Again, deputies were met by the student’s parents who were extremely cooperative and allowed them to conduct a second search of the entire residence. The second search yielded negative results for anything that could be used to carry out an act of violence. Another report was documented.
Deputies believe both incidents are related and there is NO credible threat to anyone at Fox Chapel Middle School.
In an abundance of caution, additional law enforcement officers will be on the campus tomorrow.
