North Carolina police revealed that a possible planned school shooting was thwarted with the help of the Sandy Hook tip line, resulting in the detainment of a student who shared questionable material on social media platforms.
Law enforcement authorities in Menlo-Atherton said they received a tip from their "Say Something" tip line on Sept. 10. It indicated that a former student at a local high school posted concerning content on Instagram referencing the high school itself.
Sandy Hook Tip Line
Police then locked down the Menlo-Atherton High School campus as well as a nearby middle school for roughly an hour. This was until they were able to locate the student in question and recover weapons from the individual's home.
The "Say Something" tip line is an anonymous reporting system that was created by Sandy Hook Promise, which is a Connecticut-based organization advocating for solutions to gun violence in schools across the United States, according to ABC News.
The organization noted that the Menlo-Atherton incident was the 19th "credible planned" school attack nationwide that the system had prevented since it was launched in 2018. Roughly 5,000 school districts have partnered with the organization, and tips are accepted through mobile app, text, phone, or website.
Read more: Students Rally a Week After Terrifying Evergreen High School Shooting That Left 2 Injured
The executive director of student services with the Sequoia Union High School District, Jarrett Dooley, expressed his gratitude to the tip line. He acknowledged how it "resulted in swift action by local law enforcement and school administrators to keep all students, staff, and community members safe.
The founders of the Sandy Hook tip line include Nicole Hockley, whose son Dylan was among the 20 children killed in 2012. The system also helps teach students how to recognize warning signs of violence, ABC7 News reported.
Responding to a Threat of a School Shooting
Hockley said that every time they can help prevent another act of violence, it becomes one more community that will not experience the loss she had to go through. The post that flagged the system to the latest case included images of firearms and ammunition.
A similar incident took place when a call regarding an unfounded threat at Clairemont High School on Monday resulted in a lockdown of the campus. San Diego law enforcement personnel worked with campus police to respond to the anonymous call at around 11:00 a.m.
San Diego Police Department Lt. Travis Easter said that their response was in line with the way they would treat any kind of threat. He noted that they train and prepare for these things, taking all threats seriously, as per NBC San Diego.
