DeSoto Middle School investigating school threat

DeSoto Middle School has informed parents they were investigating a threat made toward a group of students on Friday.

The threat came from an unidentified person on a “fake social media page,” according to a note from school Principal Damien Jones.

Local law enforcement was able to secure the campus on Friday morning, Jones said.

“No students were found on campus with weapons and we conducted business as usual,” Jones said.

Jones said rumors about a perpetrator being found are false.

“No student has been identified as the perpetrator,” he said. “We will continue to pursue leads until this person is ultimately found.”

The school was on lockdown on Wednesday after receiving information of another possible threat, according to its Facebook page.

And on Thursday, the parents of a group of students that were targeted were made aware of the incident.

The Arcadia Police Department and the DeSoto County Sheriff’s Office are investigating.

It’s unclear if the threats received over the three days are the same or if they are unrelated to one another.

Parents on Friday said they are scared to send their kids to school. And they’re disappointed that their small town is part of the growing trend of school threats posted on social media.

Mari Cruz said she is frightened for her son.

“It’s really concerning because you want your kids to go to school, be safe there and you hear this and you open your Facebook and that’s the first thing you see that there have been threats to the middle school and like what’s going on,” Cruz said.

Cruz said she won’t feel safe until deputies find the person who posted the threat.

Avir Johnson has a granddaughter at DeSoto Middle.

He said he hopes parents start keeping an eye on their kids online.

“They need to monitor their kids more on social media because a lot of times kids are doing that and the parents aren’t aware,” Johnson said. “There needs to be answers and consequences for something like that. These kids are no more than I mean no more than 13, 14 years old, going to school.”

“That’s ridiculous,” he added.