Supposed Online Threat Made Towards Amarillo School Causes Anger

It's not often that we hear about threats that may be made towards a person or place here in Amarillo, so when we hear of one, we have a tendency to maybe panic a little bit or start to dig deeper.

Yesterday on the Amarillo Reddit, a user posted that they had received a message online with a threat towards Austin Middle School. The user said they didn't want to create a big panic but to keep eyes open for suspicious individuals near the school or park there.

The problem with this message was there was zero context to it. No word on what the threat was, no screenshot. Just someone saying they'd received a threat. People started to call out the individual immediately. What was the threat? Did you call police?

Those were some of the common questions asked. Now, one educator did pop in and say this sort of thing has been happening a bit more often these days and thanked them for the heads up.

Now, while I appreciate the heads up as well, without any kind of context, the user could create some very unnecessary panic among parents and students of the school. Sadly, people make threats all the time, but going on Reddit and just saying there's a threat isn't the way to go about it.

Could the threat be legitimate? Sure it could, but if you're going to post about these kinds of things in Amarillo, or anywhere for that matter, it's important to give context or a screenshot so people don't just panic.

My kid used to go to Austin Middle School as recently as this school year, and had I seen this earlier, I promise you I most likely would've kept my kid home from school just to be overly safe. If I knew what kind of threat it was, there's a chance I send them based on whether or not I believe how real it is or what the threat is.

Please don't incite panic in the city, it isn't good for anyone. Keep us aware and informed? Absolutely, but give us everything.