Friday, October 9th was a day that was supposed to be like any other: just a sleepy Autumn Friday , nothing unusual here at Colton High. School had been in session just over a month, and everyone was going about their business, getting reading for mid-terms and projects to round out the first quarter. But because of a threat to school safety, a nightmare that has visited schools all over the nation became a reality for Colton High students and family members.

We hear of school shootings all over America and never think twice about it but once it hits home it seems unreal. It all started on Monday October 5th, when school administration found out about the graffiti that made parents scared to send their kids to school.

By Thursday, October 8th the written threat to “shoot up the campus on Oct. 9,” discovered by a janitor on a bathroom wall, had hit social media and all hell had broken loose. Parents frantically called the school, searching for answers. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat lit up with rumors and gossip. Was the school going to becoming a shooting gallery? Would the horrors of a school massacre that has visited so many other communities about to come down here? Was it safe to send my kids to school?

Parents wondered, as the school administration and district scrambled to contain the situation and provide for a safe campus. Finally Friday, October 9th came, and found students either waking up for school or staying safe in their covers.

Senior Jason Perez did not fear the rumors and came to school where he noticed only about four police officers present. Perez knew his grandma was worried and didn’t want him to go but that did not stop him. According to Principal Joda Murphy, only 1/3 of the student body attended school that day. The school was basically deserted. Classes continued with only handfuls of students present. It not only affected Colton high school students but their younger siblings too. Only 800 out of 1,500 students showed up to Colton Middle, according to district attendance records.

Murphy said calmly and without hesitation that she would have definitely sent her high school-aged son to school if it were the same situation. “[We did not want to] cause the hysteria that was caused over something the police department did not find as a credible threat,” Murphy expressed her thoughts on the initial situation.

So how did the rumors get out in the first place? According to Murphy, a district worker heard about the bathroom rumor and decided to tell news stations, Murphy says. She began  getting swamped with calls from parents, news stations, and other staff members.

A teleparent phone message was sent out the weekend after about more “shooting threats” occurring at Colton district schools.

In the end, as we all know, nothing happened that cool October day. But this incident (that never happened) could have, and it can serve as a lesson to all of us. Police presence, parental concern, administration working to quell rumors and keep us safe–all worked together to stave off possible trouble.