Paso PD statement regards Monday’s threat as false alarm

A firearm threat to Paso Robles High School on Monday, February 25 was declared unfounded, according to a statement from the Paso Robles Police Department.

The Paso PD statement discussed the incident and the investigation process. On February 24, Paso Robles PD began investigating a Snapchat post shared among several PRHS students. The photo depicted an AR-15 rifle with a caption of “Don’t go to school, there’s a school threat.” Officers soon determined that three students were directly linked to the photo. After interviewing the involved students and their parents, police ruled that there was no conclusive threat to PRHS.

Many students elected to stay home on Monday (or were encouraged to do so by their parents) because of the threat. Empty spots were plentiful across the parking lot, a clear sign that something was amiss.

Junior Austin Andres was one such student who remained home on the day of the firearm threat. He was alarmed to wake up Monday morning to the reports of a shooting threat. “It’s crazy to me that these things can happen here in Paso Robles,” Andres said.

Some students were untroubled by the incident, including freshman Grace Wittstrom.

“I felt no harm about the threat. I knew that the chances were slim that it would actually happen, but you never know with today’s day and age,” Wittstrom said.

This incident comes just over one year after the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting, in which 17 individuals were killed in Parkland, Florida on February 14, 2018. Additionally, Monday’s events come roughly eleven months after a PRHS school lockdown on March 20, 2018 caused by a report of firearms hidden on campus.