Misinformation led to administrators locking down Wrangell’s elementary school last week on Oct. 15 when a fraudulent threat to a parent about an abducted child spiraled.
Wrangell Police Chief Gene Meek said the confusion resulted in one parent mistakenly believing someone was threatening the elementary school with a gun. And that led to administrators locking down the school.
“That misinformation was based a little bit on the public safety announcement, but then it had the wrong location and the wrong event,” he said. “So it made it seem like it was an invented event in and of itself, but it wasn’t.”
He said the police department, school administration and faculty had a debrief to discuss what went well and what needed improvement.
Meek said, “While the incident was safe, it actually was a really good drill for us moving forward for what we need to do.”
Meek said he placed the meeting’s emphasis on educating parents to avoid panic and fraud. In response, he plans to schedule a parent public safety engagement meeting with the school within the next couple weeks.
“There are some lessons that we need to educate the public on and let parents know how we’re going to handle situations like this,” he said. “And elicit their aid and assistance rather than being a hindrance by parents panicking and running to a potential incident where they could get harmed.”
He said the police are still investigating the fraudulent phone call and will provide more details soon.
