A student who caused a scare at North Pike High School last week for reportedly handing out notes to classmates who thought they were warning of a threat was released from police custody with no charges and no action taken by Pike County Youth Court.
Pike County Chief Sheriff’s Investigator Chris Bell said a 16-year-old white male was detained Thursday morning and brought in for questioning. The student returned to school that day with no apparent disciplinary action.
The student allegedly sent out notes that said, “You only get one of these. Use it wisely.”
Classmates took them to be “life passes,” reportedly redeemable to survive a pending attack on the school.
Bell said deputies picked up the student before school and took him to youth court, where he was questioned before being released to his parents’ custody.
The notes caused alarm to parents and students. One student showed the note to her mother, who took to Facebook and alerted the department.
A concerned parent said she knew about the note before it hit social media Thursday morning.
The woman, who has a senior and a fifth-grader in the district, said she was alarmed.
“A friend of mine’s daughter sent me pictures of the note. She asked me had I heard about it. They called them ‘life passes,’ and if you got one you’ll be fine,” she said.
The parent said the teen passed out the notes a week before it all came to light. Her daughter “said she took the note from him and put it in her purse,” she said.
The parent said it wasn’t until the boy started verbalizing his intent that the student realized it was serious.
“She became concerned and showed her mom the note,” she said.
The parent said she found out about the incident when it hit social media Thursday morning.
“It was scary,” she said, adding that her daughter was too scared to attend school and stayed home.
After the commotion tapered off, one parent defending not sending their child to school, posting on Facebook: “There are those who make those threats and mean them. As a parent I defend my choice to protect my child first and foremost. This was a cause for concern, and until the matter was investigated, we had every right to put our children’s wellbeing as a priority.
“If the parents of children killed in school shootings had the same choice, I feel they would have done the same without hesitation. I am thankful that all is well, but I will not apologize for keeping my child out of potential harm’s way.”
She said threats of that nature should be taken seriously.
“Any threat to anybody, you don’t want to blow it off,” she said. “A threat to kids and a threat to school, you can’t take that lightly.”
She said she also has sympathy for the teen.
“It was a cry for help,” she said.
The parent said she sent her daughter to school Friday, but her daughter was still shaken up.
She said her middle-school daughter knew about the incident also but was told not to discuss it.
The school was conducting state testing when all of this occured.
Bell said parents began contacting the sheriff’s department around midnight Thursday.
Other parents were outraged that district officials did not alert them.
“North Pike is more concerned about their ‘reputation ‘ than the safety of our children,” Angie Bellipanni wrote on Facebook.
Amanda Callahan Thames added, “Sounds like the school is more worried about state testing than threats however ‘low’ they may be. Disappointing.”
Carolyn Williams, whose son attends North Pike, took to social media to call for prayer: “Please help me pray for North Pike High School students and faculty. Our children need prayers of protection. ... The school administration is on alert and taking all precautions. There is a police presence at the school today on standby if needed.”
Superintendent Dennis Penton couldn’t be reached this weekend to speak further about the matter.
