Lakota East student facing charges for social media threat

Lakota Schools officials say a Lakota East High School student faces charges after allegedly making a social media threat. Lakota East Principal Suzanna Davis sent a message out to school families saying the student was reported to the Butler County Sheriff’s office and is facing charges as well as disciplinary action by the school. MICHAEL D. CLARK/STAFF

Lakota Schools officials say a Lakota East High School student faces charges after allegedly making a social media threat. Lakota East Principal Suzanna Davis sent a message out to school families saying the student was reported to the Butler County Sheriff’s office and is facing charges as well as disciplinary action by the school. MICHAEL D. CLARK/STAFF

A Lakota East High School student is facing charges in the wake of a social media threat, school officials said Friday.

Suzanna Davis, principal of the Liberty Twp. high school, sent an announcement to school parents stating a parent had reported the social media threat Thursday evening.

“I wanted to make you aware of a situation we faced last night involving a potentially threatening post on a popular social app. An East parent brought it to the attention of the Butler County Sheriff’s Office, showing them the Snapchat video that was sent last night and included questionable content,” wrote Davis.

“The police immediately investigated the suspected student. At this time, we can assure you there is no threat to the safety of East students. The student responsible for the video is facing charges from the Butler County Sheriff’s department and will face disciplinary action in accordance with the Lakota Student Code of Conduct,” she wrote.

“Your child’s safety is always our highest priority, and we take every threat very seriously. I am proud of the swift response by our student who chose to come forward with the information,” Davis said.

Please use this as an opportunity to remind your children of the personal and sometimes legal consequences they face when using poor judgment. This is also a good time to reiterate a student’s responsibility to share information related to the safety of our school community with administration or a trusted adult immediately,” she said.

“It is always our intent to be transparent by sharing information with you, especially when it involves student safety and security. The purpose of this email is to stop rumors and false information from spreading,” Davis wrote.

When contacted by the Journal-News, Lakota officials declined to reveal more information citing student privacy laws but Davis reiterated “the Butler County Sheriff’s Office immediately investigated and determined there was no threat to the safety of our students, staff or school.”

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