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Parents of students at East Burke Middle School received a message on Monday evening from the school’s principal, Karen Goins, about the spread of social media rumors about a threat against the school.

Goins said in the message that she and other school personnel, district leaders, the school resource officer and more law enforcement officers investigated the social media posts and determined the threat was not true.

“The safety of our students and staff are our top priority, and we take any threat of school violence very seriously,� Goins said in the message. “We appreciate the vigilance of our students, staff and families and encourage anyone who sees or hears of anything suspicious to report it.�

School continued as planned Tuesday but with six extra law enforcement officers on site along with a police K9, said Cheryl Shuffler, public relations officer for Burke County Public Schools.

That wasn’t the only rumored threat Tuesday.

In a Facebook post, Burke County Public Schools said schools were getting calls from parents asking if schools around the county were on lockdown.

The district said in a post that there were no schools on lockdown early Tuesday afternoon. It said if a school were to go on lockdown, parents would be notified as soon as possible.

Several comments on the post expressed frustration with the lack of information available about the incident at East Burke Middle School and concerns that parents weren’t kept in the loop.

District officials said they understand parents can become frustrated with the situation.

“When school threats are made or students face disciplinary actions, we understand that parents want clear answers,� said Mike Swan, superintendent of Burke County Public Schools. “However, due to student confidentiality, the integrity of investigations and our strict safety protocols, we are limited in the details we can share.

“We know this can be frustrating, especially in a time where information and misinformation spread rapidly, often leading to rumors that only heighten anxiety.�

Swan said the district means it when it says it takes threats seriously. “Every day, parents and guardians trust us with the safety and education of their most precious treasure — their child— and we do not take that responsibility lightly,� Swan said. “We ask for continued patience and trust as we work through the challenges of this heightened atmosphere of fear and uncertainty affecting schools nationwide. And, as always, we ask parents to please talk to your children about the gravity of these issues and encourage them to use our anonymous reporting app, ‘Say Something.’ Together, we can help keep our schools safe.�

Heritage lockdown

Heritage Middle School did go into a soft lockdown Tuesday afternoon after a police chase ended near the school and the suspect jumped and ran, said Cheryl Shuffler, public relations director for Burke schools. She said the principal was in the process of notifying parents. All after-school activities were canceled. Students were going to be escorted to meet their parents after school, Shuffler said.