Online message leads to concerns at Columbus East; BB gun found at North

Note: This story has been updated.

Local school resource officers were on heightened alert yesterday morning at Columbus high schools after a vague online message warned people not to be at a school called “East” and a gun was reported at Columbus North High School.

At Columbus North, school officials received a report of a gun on campus. A search revealed that a student had brought a BB gun to school. The school is addressing the issue.

At Columbus East, school resource officers received a screen capture of a Snapchat message that showed a picture of an email, which made the vague reference. The text referred to a school as “East,” but did not clarify which town the school was in, according to school officials.

The pictured email did not appear to be from a BCSC student or staff member, and the teacher named in the email is not from BCSC. School resource officers worked to track down the origins of the message and extra officers were on hand at Columbus East High School.

The actual school being mentioned turned out to be in a neighboring state, and that school had been dealing with the situation at that location.

Officials said it’s common to see these kinds of messages that use a directional name for a school, such as East, but don’t give context for the location of the school mentioned, creating confusion.