Cook: Threat referred to a different CHS

COEUR d’ALENE — A threat on social media Thursday referring to a “CHS” apparently had no connection to Coeur d’Alene High School, said Coeur d’Alene School District Superintendent Steve Cook on Friday.

A Snapchat posted from another time zone Thursday contained a handwritten threat, “CHS School Shooting 10-19-18 Be Ready.”

Cook explained, “While the message mentioned a ‘CHS,’ investigators here found no indication of that being a reference to Coeur d’Alene High School. The same message also was being shared and investigated in multiple states across the country. At this time, Coeur d’Alene police do not believe there is a credible threat involving any school in the Coeur d’Alene School District.”

He explained that some reports indicated that CHS students had seen the message firsthand at CHS, but that no such message was found when district staff and police searched CHS Thursday night. Cook added that the Coeur d’Alene Police Department deployed additional officers to CHS on Friday “as a precautionary measure.”

The superintendent thanked parents and students for using the “Report a Threat” feature in the school district’s smartphone app.

“We encourage our students and staff to ‘See Something, Say Something,’ and the immediate reporting of the threat Thursday enabled police to quickly launch an investigation,” said Cook. He added, “The systems we have in place for reporting threats or other concerning issues worked well Thursday.”