'False threat': Troopers investigate social media post

PALMER — After a social media post threatening violence toward the Colony Middle and High schools circulated on Tuesday evening, school principals and law enforcement authorities acted to investigate the threat, which was deemed to be not credible.

“This case has been investigated and determined that the threat of the school shooting was false,” wrote in an email by Colony High School principal Brendan McMahon that was forwarded to the Frontiersman by the Mat-Su Borough School District

According to Mat-Su Borough School District Public Information Officer Jillian Morrissey, both McMahon and Mary Fulp, the Colony Middle School principal, put out a mass notification to all families notifying them of the threat. The principals noted that they did not believe the threat was credible and that school was open. Because safety is a priority for MSBSD schools, Alaska State Troopers were stationed at each school throughout the day. As many as half of Colony Middle School’s students were absent or taken out of school after rumors of the threat circulated on social media. Troopers met with school administrators and students to conduct interviews, and following the investigation made a determination that the origination of the message came from outside school grounds.

This is a developing story. Continue to see frontiersman.com for more.

Contact Frontiersman reporter Tim Rockey at tim.rockey@frontiersman.com.