Big Sky High School Under ‘Perimeter Lock-in’ After Concerning Graffiti Found
Update: 1:17 P.M. February 22 - MCPS officials say that as of 1:00 P.M. about half of Big Sky High School students are still attending classes and that the perimeter lock-in will continue till the end of the school day. A scheduled baseball game at Big Sky against Helena Capital this afternoon is scheduled to proceed.
Officials say there have been inaccurate social media reports of an active shooter or students barricading themselves into classrooms but according to MCPS "these are not factual statements."
Some students have left the school in what has been described as "a calm and orderly process" after calls from some parents wishing to sign their children and excuse them from classes.
Details about the graffiti, and the resulting investigation have not been released. Police say at least three officers are on the campus conducting an investigation.
Original Story- After dealing with a threat of violence last week, Big Sky High School officials have had to confront more potential threats that were brought to the attention of staff by students on Wednesday and Thursday this week.
Big Sky High School Principal Natalie Jaeger sent out a message to parents on Wednesday evening the 14th (see message at bottom of story) that discussed a snap chat message and a graffiti message that were concerning.
On Thursday, a text message was sent to parents just before noon saying "Additional Graffiti has been found in a girls bathroom within the F Building at the school. We have initiated a perimeter lock in and additional law enforcement are completing a sweep of the building to look for any threats within the building. We will update you as soon as possible."
MCPS officials confirmed that a perimeter lock in was put in place, and that more information will be made available soon. Below is the letter sent on Wednesday afternoon.
Dear Big Sky Families,
At the end of the school day two different groups of students approached Big Sky administrators with immediate safety concerns.
The first concern involved a Big Sky student who received a threatening message via Snapchat that included a picture of a weapon. The message was sent from a student who attends a private local high school. The message also indicated that he would bring the weapon to her at Big Sky. Law enforcement was immediately contacted and Missoula police are investigating currently.
Additionally, a Big Sky student reported graffiti in a bathroom at the school that said “Don’t come to school Feb. 23.”Law enforcement was immediately contacted. There is no direct threat contained in this graffiti and we will continue to investigate it. Please encourage your students to share any information they know about this statement.
We will have increased police presence at Big Sky on both Thursday and Friday. We encourage you to send your students to school to promote a sense of consistency and to allow them to focus on positive and proactive behaviors related to their own education.
We continue to be diligent in our attention to our entire student population and we expect to run classes on a normal schedule tomorrow and Friday. If other relevant information develops overnight, I will send you an update as soon as possible..
Sincerely,
Natalie Jaeger
Principal
Big Sky High School