The fear of school shootings is present in young people all over the U.S. On Tuesday, Sept. 24, San Marcos High School (SMHS) students experienced that fear in real time after a false active shooter threat forced them into lockdown.
Though there is relief in the falseness of the threat, it was still extremely alarming for those involved. False threats in San Marcos and at Texas State must be addressed due to the impact they can have on students.
The call the San Marcos Police Department (SMPD) received on Tuesday sounded like a student calling to report an armed individual, and two gunshots went off before the call ended. SMPD confirmed the call was spoofed.
Since the school year started, there has been a wave of shooting threats throughout Central Texas. Bastrop ISD, Pflugerville ISD, Austin ISD, Hays CISD and San Marcos CISD all experienced threats resulting in action from law enforcement.
Hays CISD’s chief safety and security officer, Jeri Strocki, said since Aug. 13, there were five cases of violent threats in Hays CISD. These cases resulted in student arrests and were not the product of a swatting incident like the one at SMHS on Tuesday. Strocki said she suspects swatting incidents will only increase.
“I suspect that we will see more and more [spoofing],” Strocki said. “Spoofing is a very real threat, anonymizers are out there, they’ve been out there and that’s absolutely frightening.”
Texas State has also fallen victim to false threats that disrupt campus events and classes. Various bomb threats impacted students, including a threat that evacuated five residence halls in January. Bomb threats at Texas State instill fear in students and fracture the campus’ sense of safety.
Going through an active shooter protocol is also jarring for students as they prepare for worst-case scenarios.
Sawyer Barnett, a freshman at SMHS, said the active shooter threat was frightening.
“[The teacher] turned the light off and put us in the corner,” Barnett said. “I texted my mom, I texted my family. I was scared, I’m not going to lie.”
After the incident at SMHS on Tuesday, the school is providing additional counseling services to students.
SMPD is currently working to investigate the caller’s origin. However, there is a bigger issue at hand. School shootings and gun violence plague schools all over the nation, and criminals and scammers are capitalizing on it.
Texas has the second highest number of school shootings in America, and it is home to some of the deadliest school shootings in history. The threat of gun violence in schools is high, especially because of Texas’ loose gun restrictions.
There must be serious consequences after a false threat. Because of the influx of violent threats, Hays CISD implemented a program called “Threat Regret,” which aims to communicate to students how serious threats are. San Marcos CISD should consider doing the same.
Though it is important for school districts to implement programs, the weight of each incident should not fall solely on them. Government officials must be aware of the effects loose laws have on students and faculty. Not only are school shootings incredibly present, but false threats such as the one that occurred Tuesday are only going to worsen if action isn’t taken.
Violent and false threats are common right now among Central Texas schools, and students shouldn’t have to live in fear. San Marcos must work diligently to investigate the false threat on Tuesday in order to prevent this from happening again.
The Main Point is an opinion written by The University Star’s Editorial Board. Opinions expressed are not necessarily those of our entire publication.
