On Friday afternoon, February 10, a threatening message was discovered scribbled in pencil on a men’s restroom wall at Bellbrook High School. The actual content of the message is unknown, but what is known is that whatever the incident was, it supposedly would occur at 1 pm, Monday, February 13, and would be directed at all students rather than singling out one. After school administration was notified, they contacted the Sugarcreek Township Police Department.

By Friday evening, administration from Bellbrook High School released an email notifying parents and students of a possible threat and that there would be extra security at the school throughout the week and they were working to find the culprit. They also assured us that the offender would undergo severe disciplinary action as well as civil action by the police.

As of now, the police do not know who is responsible for this threat, but they have been conducting interviews with students and reviewing security tapes. Inducing panic is a likely charge, with the possibility of more considering that it happened on school grounds. Monday passed without incident, but many students were absent.

When asked by the Dayton Daily News about whether students should stay home Monday, Bellbrook’s Officer White said that it is the private choice of their parents.

Students have been discussing their opinions about what could happen on social networking sites, ranging from jokes to serious concern. Facebook’s news feeds have been blowing up with questions from the email and fears about what might happen. Reflecting his hesitation to attend school Monday, senior Mike Holtz posted, “Senior skip day on Monday?” After speaking to Mike, he went on to say, “I don’t think the situation should be taken lightly, but whoever wrote it will probably chicken out and not do it. I hope they find the person who wrote it through the surveillance cameras though.” Senior Christy Winter’s also expressed her thoughts, “I’m scared. This is the first time I’ve been afraid to go to school. You don’t think about this happening in Bellbrook.”

Most students and parents at Bellbrook feel left in the dark not knowing what the “threat” actually is. It is believed to be a threat of a shooting but that has yet to be confirmed. Many parents are outraged by the vague information and state they have a right to know what they may be sending their kids into.