CLAYTON, Mo. — Classes were canceled early Monday morning at Clayton High School due to a social media threat, school officials said.
Monday afternoon, officials said the threat was linked to a nationwide scare involving a 17-year-old student from Clovis High School in New Mexico.
The threat was originally posted on Snapchat. The post reportedly threatened gun violence towards anyone who went to class, saying in part to "not go to school."
Letter sent to Clayton families Monday afternoon
Early this morning the District made the difficult decision to cancel classes at Clayton High School based on a Snapchat post that indicated a threat to CHS for today. This decision was based on information we, and the Clayton Police Department, received early this morning. We have since determined that the post was not a direct threat to our high school. The original Snapchat post, which showed an image of a person with a gun and referenced “CHS,” was made last week by a 17-year-old Clovis High School (CHS) student in New Mexico. A number of school districts across the country with high schools identified as “CHS” have been addressing this same issue this morning. While we are still investigating why one of our students would choose to repost that image, our partners at the Clayton Police Department have assured us there was never a direct threat to Clayton High School.
The Clayton Police Department made us aware of the post around 2:30 a.m. today. A few hours later, at the time we needed to make the decision to close school, we still believed this post to be a direct threat to Clayton High School. Out of an abundance of caution, we closed school, as we will always make decisions to ensure Clayton High School continues to be a safe place to learn and work. We also had officers from the Clayton Police Department at each of our other schools to increase our level of security today.
Thank you for your understanding as we worked through this developing situation today. Even with limited information, we will always do everything we can to keep our students and staff safe.
Clayton school district officials told 5 On Your Side that they decided to cancel the classes out of an abundance of caution. The entire campus will be closed Monday, including the Orange and Blue Rooms. No other schools in the district will be closed.
