Teen faces criminal charge for rumor about school shooting
SPRINGFIELD, Ore. -- A reported threat of a school shooting turned out to be a rumor, spread through the student population and community via word of mouth, text message and social media.
"There was never a credible threat," said Officer Rick Lewis, the school resource officer from the Springfield Police Department.
The original report, Lewis said, was of a threat going around about a school shooting to happen Thursday at Springfield High School. Lewis got to work looking into the report. Students have long been encouraged to report any such threats in the wake of the 1998 fatal shootings at Thurston High School in Springfield.
"It turned out it was an elaborate lie that took twists and a life of it's own," Lewis said. "Once it got caught up in the rumor mill, it just went nuts."
The rumor was started by a student at Springfield High School who now faces a charge of first degree disorderly conduct, Lewis said.
The rumor prompted some parents to keep students home from school Thursday after it spread via word of mouth, text message and social media like MySpace.
Lewis said rumors spread faster than they did in the past due to technological changes.
"One person can reach out to 50 people or however many friends that have that log on and look at that MySpace page over the course of the night," Lewis said.
