On Monday, December 6, 2021, the Colorado Springs Police Department (CSPD) School Resource Officer (SRO) Unit was notified through Safe2Tell of concerning social media posts involving potential threats to Chinook Trail Middle School. The SRO Unit immediately began an investigation to both identify the students in the photos as well as determine if there were any threats to students or staff. Following a very thorough investigation, it has been determined there are no credible threats.
During their investigation, SROs interviewed multiple students (including those depicted in the photos), spoke with family members, conducted necessary follow-up, and more. While the nature of the photos is concerning, there were never any threats made towards students, staff, or the campus.
We at the CSPD fully understand the worry and fear that photos like these can cause, but what we want to ensure our community is that neither law enforcement nor school administrators believe there is a credible threat stemming from these photos. We have received dozens of Safe2Tell tips, many of which were shared widely on social media without context or accuracy, only adding to confusion and fear. Unfortunately, what we saw during this investigation was a widespread circulation of rumors. This was first made evident in the fact that nobody who was contacted or those who openly shared information could attribute where the threats came from. They could only reiterate something they thought they may have heard. We also saw an excess of incorrect and outlandish connections/information being shared about these photos. Some examples include:
- The photos being shared of firearms were taken more than a year ago and were in no way related to any threats to the school. There was also a photo of a student with a knife, which was also found to be taken more than two months ago at a different location that was not the school. However, because many people screenshotted these photos, many believed they were new and shared them on social media claiming they were part of a recent threat.
- One photo was posted depicting a student with a birthday cake accompanied by a caption that read “three more days,” attributing the countdown to their birthday. However, someone on social media made their own assumption that the photo must have been associated with a threat and a school shooting would occur in three days. This spread quickly on social media. SRO’s have continued to follow-up on these claims, and nobody can say how this connection was made.
- A “hit list” was reported to law enforcement that many students and parents tied to the original photos. During our investigation, it was found that students were speaking amongst themselves and created a list of who they thought might be a target in a school shooting if a threat was carried out by a specific person. No “hit list” was ever created, yet this was also widely circulated.
The CSPD would like to reiterate that we fully understand the concern of these photos and support our community for wanting to do their part in keeping everyone safe. We want to urge everyone to please use appropriate forms on reporting, such as calling law enforcement, reporting incidents to school administration, or using Safe2Tell. Safe2Tell is an incredibly important tool, and when incorrect information gets spread on social media instead of being reported to the authorities, it inhibits our ability to conduct investigations in a timely manner. Please refrain from spreading misinformation or rumors and help our community by making reports through official channels.