Threat of mass shooting leads eight Kansas City area school districts to cancel classes
Several Jackson County school districts suddenly canceled summer activities and programs Wednesday after Blue Springs police alerted the FBI to a threat of an unspecific mass shooting.
“The FBI has confirmed that the individual in question whose whereabouts are unknown is dangerous,” the Blue Springs School District said in a statement on Facebook late Tuesday.
The district said it would cancel its summer school, Prime Time and all other school activities on Wednesday “out of an abundance of caution.”
“We believe the best course of action is to close our summer school sites and all school programming until further notice,” the statement said. “We know this will be a burden to many of our families and we ask for your understanding and flexibility as we continue to keep our students, staff, and schools safe.”
Blue Springs police made the FBI aware of the threat on Tuesday, an FBI spokesman said.
“We take all threats of violence seriously and work with our local partners to provide resources as needed,” said Dixon Land, an FBI spokesman in Kansas City. He said Blue Springs police are leading the investigation into the threat.
The threat prompted Independence, Lee’s Summit, Lone Jack, Grain Valley, Fort Osage, Oak Grove and Odessa school districts to cancel their summer school programs and close their early education sites as well Wednesday.
The districts said they have not received any information suggesting the possible threat is connected to their schools, but they were taking the action as a precaution.
The FBI and Blue Springs Police Department were investigating the threat, the school district said.
This story was originally published June 15, 2022 at 7:17 AM.
