Adams City High School will resume classes as scheduled Thursday after police and school investigators found threats of violence that forced the Wednesday closure were unsubstantiated.
Adams 14 School District Superintendent Dr. Karla Loria said the school was closed to facilitate a smooth investigation by the school district, Commerce City Police and the FBI.
District spokesman Dr. Jeff McCanna, chief of Human Resources and Talent Management, said the priority of the district-level administration Wednesday was going to the other district schools and "reassure our kiddos."
"These are our kids and we take every threat seriously. People are rightly concerned and we need to make sure we stay out in front of it," he said. "When we first heard about this through Safe2Tell, we met many times last night. Ultimately we weren't able to unsubstantiated (the threat) and made the call to close the school."
McCanna said he doesn't know if the threats made against Adams City High School were related to other threats made across the metro area recently. He called it "super coincidental" that these events happened all at the same time.
As of late Wednesday, it was unknown who made the threats or why. Commerce City Police did not respond to Denver Gazette's requests for updates.
Adams City High School resumes normal classes Thursday, with additional law enforcement personnel present. There will also be additional counselors at the high school for "the social and emotional support needs" of students and staff, McCanna said.
"The district will work with all local and federal agencies to prosecute any and all individuals who make a threat to the maximum extent of the law," according to a district news release. "We have a no-tolerance policy for any behavior that jeopardizes the well-being of our students and staff."
In a statement, the Colorado FBI office said it was aware of multiple "swatting" incidents and is taking them seriously. "Swatting," in this context, means an incident where a call is received reporting an active shooter at a school, which turns out to be false.
On Aug. 5, multiple universities were closed in Denver after receiving threats. On Monday, students at East High School were evacuated after unfounded reports of a shooting.
Also Monday, Colorado Springs Police received a call reporting a shooting at a local school. A school resource officer determined it was a hoax.
"The FBI takes swatting very seriously because it puts innocent people at risk and drains law enforcement resources," Vikki Migoya, an FBI spokesperson, said. "FBI Denver is working with local law enforcement on some of these swatting incidents involving schools in our region."
Loria asked parents to speak with their children about the dangers of making threats to use a weapon or bringing a weapon of any kind to school. The district has a "no tolerance" policy for "any behavior that jeopardizes the safety of our students and staff, Loria said.
The reminder comes after Adams City High School was placed on lockdown Monday after police received reports that a student had a firearm inside the school. The student was detained by police without incident and a handgun was recovered at the scene.
