Rumors, Social Media Spread False Gun Threat

Rumors+of+a+gun+threat+spread+throughout+the+school+Tuesday%2C+Feb.+2.

Photo I. Giovannetti

Rumors of a gun threat spread throughout the school Tuesday, Feb. 2.

Isabel Giovannetti, RHStoday Editor-in-Chief

Rumors about a possible gun threat circled the school today with a picture of a news report displaying the following quote from an Instagram post spreading from student to student via text message:

FWD: Rhs shootout!!!! Don’t come to school tomorrow Monday January 25th, 2016!! I am sick of this [expletive] talking and petty nonsense, therefore tomorrow will be our first and final Rhs shootout. To save a life send this message to all your friends. Anyone who walks into the building is a dead man walking. Have a blessed evening because if you have beef its probably going to be your last.

However, the “Rhs” mentioned in the post is not Robinson High School but Raytown High School, located in a suburb outside of Kansas City, Mo.

Administration was notified of the post on social media Monday morning.

“We’ve investigated it through the Hillsborough County Security Department and the Tampa Police Department and there’s nothing viable about that information,” Principal Johnny Bush said.

Jenna Anders (’18) heard the rumors around campus today but did not believe them.

“People blow things out of proportion,” Anders said. “Social media adds to the drama and makes it sound worse than it is most of the time.”

While the misunderstanding was just that, Bush advises students to always tell an adult if they see or hear something concerning, such as a perceived threat.

“We are very pleased that our kids brought that to us- brought the information to us for us to look into,” Bush said. “That’s what we’re asking all of our students to do, is be upstanding citizens and make sure we protect everybody on our campus.”