Kyle Palmer  - Paywall

SMSD stays open Wednesday after mass shooting threat prompts some Missouri districts to cancel classes

Shawnee Mission sign

Seven other metro districts, all on the Missouri side, canceled summer school classes Wednesday following an unspecified mass shooting threat in Blue Springs. File photo.

Updated: 9:15 a.m. Wednesday 

Blue Springs Police said Wednesday morning they had a suspect in custody in connection to a threat made on social media app Snapchat threatening “killing people” and “mass murdering.”

  • Blue Springs Police in a statement said charges were pending against the individual and that there is “no threat to the public.”

Original story continues below:

The Shawnee Mission School District says all scheduled summer school activities in the district would continue Wednesday after several other Kansas City area districts canceled school following an unspecified threat of a mass shooting.

What’s going on? At least eight other public school districts in the metro — all in Jackson County, Missouri — canceled activities and summer school classes for Wednesday after Blue Springs Police notified the FBI to the threat.

  • The Blue Springs district wrote on its Facebook page Tuesday night: “The FBI has confirmed that the individual in question whose whereabouts are unknown is dangerous. As a result, and out of an abundance of caution we will be canceling summer school [for] Wednesday, June 15.”
  • Independence, Lee’s Summit, Lone Jack, Grain Valley, Fort Osage, Oak Grove and Odessa also all canceled summer school activities on Wednesday, as well.

What did SMSD say? On Wednesday morning, SMSD sent an email to families saying activities in that district would remain on schedule.

  • “This event appears to be localized to the Blue Springs area,” the statement said. “All scheduled activities will continue [Wednesday] in SMSD, and we will continue to monitor the situation in Blue Springs. Our district police are aware, and will be visible at our summer locations.”
  • The district also tweeted out the same message:

 

Hi! I'm Kyle Palmer, editor of the Shawnee Mission Post and Blue Valley Post. I believe deeply in the power of local news and strive each day to make our readers feel informed, so they can get the most out of life in this great place we all call home

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