A few weeks ago a threat was made from a student planning to “shoot up the school.” The threat was spread around on social media platforms by fellow students, sending screenshots of the threat to each other and also parents. The community went into a frenzy, and all the while the administration was trying to handle the situation.

    This was an extremely difficult situation to oversee, and fortunately, it was taken seriously and was handled with exceptional care by Superintendent Geoff Bontrager and his staff. They should all be commended for how efficiently they dealt with this troubling situation. 

  Mr. Geoff Bontrager played a major role in how well the administration handled the stress of each difficult decision. First, Bontrager came to the conclusion to cancel school in order to keep all students safe.

  “In any situation like this, the first thing we do is involve the proper law enforcement authorities immediately,” said Bontrager. “We work diligently to provide them with any information and assistance we can.”

   Bontrager first communicated to the public by sending out an alert that school would be closed. He did not hesitate the night the threat was made, and he put the safety of all students first. He even continued to keep the community up to speed on the situation days after the threat was made.  He was tweeting out and keeping up with questions in order to keep anyone with concerns completely informed.

  “We decided to close school for Friday, Oct. 19 the night before out of an abundance of caution,” said Bontrager. “It gave law enforcement more time to investigate the situation.”

  Although the threat was deemed non-credible, the Northwest community is lucky to have an administration that is always ready to do what it takes to keep its staff and students safe.

  “Law enforcement officials who investigated the threat deemed it non-credible and believed that the social media account holder’s electronic device had been hacked,” said Bontrager. “With that said, the account owner’s cell phone and computer were sent to the Michigan State Police Computer Crimes Division. It is our job to take every threat seriously and deal with it in an appropriate and serious manner.”

    This threat will not slow down Northwest or its administration from moving forward in a positive way. The students and staff will continue to stay focused and show that nothing can stop our education.