Shooting threats at Lansing High School lead to student arrests

Within the past week, Lansing High School has seen two school shooting threats, both leading to student arrests. On June 1 and 7, Tompkins County sheriff’s deputies were dispatched to the high school for alleged shooting threats, leading school officials and deputies alike to urge community members to always take such threats seriously.

On June 1, according to a statement released by Tompkins County Sheriff Derek Osborne, the high school learned about a Snapchat post made by a student that “referenced him becoming involved in a shooting incident at the school.” The post was then shared by another student, which greatly increased the post’s viewership and led to the school’s discovery of it.

The school took immediate action, securing those involved until deputies arrived. The student who made the original post, a 16-year-old, was later charged with making a terroristic threat, a Class D Felony under New York penal law. Because the student is a minor, his name has not been released. He appeared in Tompkins County Court soon after the arrest was made.

According to another statement released yesterday, investigations into the June 7 incidents revealed that “several students both heard and saw two other students discussing and creating a ‘kill list’ to include various people, one of which was another student. This caused alarm to students and staff, who took prompt action including notification to the Tompkins County Sheriff’s Office.”

The students responsible for the list, ages 15 and 16, were both charged with making a terroristic threat. The 15-year-old will be processed as a juvenile and the 16-year-old as an adult. The names of these students are also not being released due to their age.  

The Sheriff’s Office has taken action to ensure all three students’ inaccessibility to firearms and does not believe that the school is at continued risk from these incidents, according to the June 7 statement. Still, for the remainder of the school year, sheriff’s deputies will provide a security presence at the school as a precaution.

District Superintendent Chris Pettograsso said in a release to community members on June 1 that the district is “extremely grateful” for the Sheriff’s Department’s quick response to the first threat, and school officials and students handled the threat well. She issued a similar release on June 7.

“It has been a difficult time for our Lansing school community,” Pettograsso said in her June 7 release. “Emails regarding school safety concerns are extremely disheartening and cause a great deal of fear and potential distress. It is my hope that the district’s continued communications, prompt actions and collaboration with our community law enforcement, as well as additional county support groups, bring you some sense of relief and trust. As we stated in our previous communication, local law enforcement were notified immediately and we were able to quickly determine that there was not any immediate safety threat.”

These threats came not long after the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, in which 19 students and two adults were killed, creating significant concern among communities across our region.

“I am deeply grateful that today’s events did not lead to any physical harm,” Pettograsso said in her June 1 release. “However, it is critical to our health and wellness to understand that every threatening situation we encounter is compounding and intensifies the already-heightened school safety concerns for all of us: parents, students, faculty, staff, administration, the institution of education as a whole.”

The high number of school shootings across the country in recent years led both Lansing schools and the Sheriff’s Department to increase educational and precautionary measures to prevent such an incident locally. Earlier this year, for example, the district held a virtual family presentation on the “impact of social media and how students use it,” according to Pettograsso.

Osborne explained that since becoming sheriff three years ago, he’s continuously encouraged deputies to improve their relationships with area districts, such as by parking in school parking lots whenever they need to idle their patrol cars for things like report writing.

“When I first came into office, I started pushing them to be more proactive with our schools,” he said. “We have to educate our kids. First of all, when they see law enforcement at a school, it’s not always necessarily a bad thing they’re there for. I’ve been trying for three years to make contacts with the school as much as we can so that they just begin to think of us as just [a] community member there to keep them safe.”

Pettograsso said in an email last week that the first incident was also a learning opportunity for the district.

“We were able to positively use the situation that transpired as an educational experience for all and as a reminder that safety plans, quick communication, and strictly followed protocols are absolutely essential,” she said.

The protocols surrounding active shootings and shooting threats at schools have changed considerably in recent years, Osborne said. For example, during the 1999 incident at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado, “The police in that situation simply responded, set up a perimeter and waited for SWAT,” he said.

“That’s how things were done back then,” he said. “Of course, we didn’t know anything about active shooters. We weren’t experiencing them to any certain degree. So now, yeah, we train that, when two officers show up at the scene, they’re going in. They’re not waiting for SWAT. They’re not setting up perimeters. Our goal is to go in and neutralize the threat immediately.”

Osborne added that the protocol was a bit different in the June 1 case.

“It didn’t come in as an actual active shooter,” he said. “The person involved didn’t have a firearm on him. He wasn’t in the school shooting people. But still, when we hear threats like that, we have to take them seriously. So, we respond as quick as we can. And we rely on the school in a lot of ways because they’re already right there.”

Osborne and Pettograsso provided some advice for parents in light of these incidents.

“Please talk to your children,” Pettograsso said in her June 1 release. “Have open communication with your children regarding social media and the potential impact of what you choose to post/re-share — the good and the bad.”

Osborne shared a similar sentiment.

“Parents should be talking to their kids about these types of posts because a lot of kids could post things thinking it’s just a joke, and … we can’t joke about these things anymore,” he said. “So, warning them that, if they do a post such as that in a joking way that they’re going to end up in trouble that they don’t need, and that they have to be proactive. And when they see these things, don’t try to guess whether or not it’s a legitimate threat or not. They need to just report it as soon as possible.”

Pettograsso also provided support to those in the surrounding community.

“I feel so deeply for all in educational communities right now,” Pettograsso said in an email. “We continue to be in a time of crisis, and the weight being carried by students, families and school personnel is heavy. It is essential we continue to work together and communicate as much as possible.”

Those with questions surrounding this incident are encouraged to call the Sheriff’s Office at (607) 257-1345.

Lansing at Large appears every Wednesday in Tompkins Weekly. Send story ideas to editorial@VizellaMedia.com.