BELLVILLE — Clear Fork Middle School was on lockdown Friday morning after a sixth-grade student reported he overheard another student mention a planned shooting at the high school prom on Saturday night.
Clear Fork Superintendent Janice Wyckoff called the Richland County Sheriff’s Dept. at 7:44 a.m. to report the middle school principal was contacted by the student’s mother to report the threat.
Wyckoff ordered the lockdown until deputies could respond to investigate. The sixth-grade student was unable to identify the student who made the threat, according to a sheriff’s department statement, and the lockdown was later lifted.
“The sixth grader told his mother he overheard a student make a comment in the hallway Thursday that there was going to be a shooting at the prom,” according to the sheriff’s department statement.
Sheriff’s Maj. Joe Masi said he didn’t know how long the lockdown lasted.
“The threat was directed to the prom,” Masi said. “(There was) no evidence or indication of weapons inside the school.”
Masi said Wyckoff is addressing security issues surrounding the prom and the sherriff’s department has offered its assistance.
“We are working with the school to identify the student who made the threat. The investigation continues,” Masi said.
The reported threat indicated the shooting would be in retaliation to a social media post earlier this week with a racist message made by a district high school student who attends the Knox Career Center vocational school, according to the sheriff’s department press release.
The social media posting has been removed and district officials reported the student who created it will not attend the prom on Saturday.
The middle school is located at Ohio 97 East near Bellville.
Richland Source has contacted Wyckoff’s office for additional information.
Stay with Richland Source for updates on this story.
