Craig police chief: Threat against ‘CMS’ was actually directed at school in North Carolina | CraigDailyPress.com
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Craig police chief: Threat against ‘CMS’ was actually directed at school in North Carolina

Craig Middle School reopened Tuesday after a threat against "CMS" led school officials to keep the middle school out of session on Monday.
Cuyler Meade / Craig Press

Craig Middle School students returned to class Tuesday after school officials opted to keep the middle school out of session one day prior due to a murky threat against “CMS.”

According to the Moffat County School District, school officials were made aware there was a threat against “CMS” circulating on the social media app SnapChat. The tip came in through the statewide reporting system, Safe to Tell, on Sunday.

On Tuesday, Craig Police Chief Michael Cochran explained that the threat against “CMS” had actually spread across many different schools across the country, causing fear for up to 1,000 different institutions that operate under the acronym “CMS” nationwide.



Cochran added that authorities were able to track the threat down to a middle school in North Carolina by identifying the “CMS” teachers who were mentioned in it.

“We were very fortunate (that this threat was not directed at Craig Middle School), but you never want to take a chance,” Cochran said. “Our kids’ safety is the No. 1 thing.”



Images of the written threat have circulated on social media channels, and while the author was not very clear about the intended target, their suggested acts of violence were explicit and even mentioned a couple of teachers by name.

There were signs Craig Middle School was not the intended target on Monday, though, because no teachers by those names work at the school. However, school officials still opted to err on the side of student safety by keeping Craig Middle School out of session and having an increased police presence at the local elementary and high schools.

Over the phone, Moffat County Superintendent Jill Hafey expressed relief Tuesday as she said the district was getting back to normal operations.

Hafey said a number of parents decided to keep their children out of school in the elementary and high schools on Monday, and she completely understands why parents made that decision. But Hafey was also glad to see attendance returning back to normal on Tuesday.

It was not clear Tuesday if authorities in North Carolina have found the individual responsible for authoring the threat that disrupted schools across the U.S.

Cochran confirmed that there was an increased police presence at Craig Middle School on Tuesday, but he explained that it was related to the DARE graduation ceremony, a program that helps to prevent substance use among young people.


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