Investigation of gun violence threat at HF-L High ongoing
The investigation into the threat of a shooting at HF-L High is ongoing. Despite claims on various social media sites, authorities tell The Sentinel no arrest has been made. File photo
Although rumors are circulating on social media that a suspect is in custody following a threat of a shooting last Friday at Honeoye Falls-Lima High School, that rumor is false according to the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office.
“We are aware of the rumors, but nobody has been taken into custody as of right now,” Monroe County Sheriff Zone B Commander Captain Paul DeLella said on Monday morning, April 30 during a phone interview. “The investigation is ongoing.”
The information on the internet included a suspect’s name. Given that no arrest has been made, those people putting out a name on the social media platforms are opening themselves up to a lawsuit for defamation of character, libel and/or slander.
It was a very quiet Friday at the high school after a threat discovered in a stall in a boys bathroom led several parents to keep their students home as the Monroe County Sheriff’s Department continued its investigation of the threat and boosted its presence on the campus.
HF-L Superintendent Gene Mancuso said that 460 students were absent from the high school on Friday, April 27, although about 150 of those were on pre-planned school trips such as the band trip to the Virginia Beach Festival and the robotics team to the nationals in Detroit.
The message, handwritten on a stall in a boys bathroom located in the old part of the high school building, threatened a school shooting to potentially take place on Friday, April 27 and was discovered by students on Wednesday (April 25) afternoon. Students notified district staff members.
“District Officials called 9-1-1 and the district’s security director also contacted the Sheriff’s Office directly,” said DeLella during a joint news conference with Mancuso on Thursday, April 26.
District administrators sent an email out to high school parents about the threat and later an email to parents of all students in the district.
While there have been some complaints on social media about the lack of communication, parents and residents need to understand that not all information can be shared due to the ongoing nature of the investigation.
“We are informing the community and being as forthright as much as we can, releasing as much information as we can as soon as we can without jeopardizing the investigation,” Mancuso said.
Mancuso stated at the news conference that students had been interviewed with parents being informed of the interviews as per district policy to notify parents whenever a student is going to be interviewed by law enforcement. He noted students had offered information and the district also was utilizing the cameras in the hallway to see who was in and out of that particular bathroom. Due to the combination of those things, the district and the sheriff’s office did have persons of interest.
“My gut reaction is, unfortunately, our students have no idea of the severity of the consequences of this type of threat, but we don’t know,” Mancuso said. “We are also in 2018 and we can no longer say ‘we’ll just discount or don’t take account of a threat’. We have to take it seriously.”
Due to the threat, the High School, Middle School and Manor School were put on lockout during the school day on both Thursday and Friday. Extra Monroe County Sheriff’s deputies were at the schools both days and Monroe County Sheriff Todd Baxter was at the high school on Friday. In addition to the extra deputies deployed around the buildings, entry to the district’s buildings was restricted and random checks of students entering the high school and locker sweeps were also conducted on Friday.
The consequences of threatening gun violence could include expulsion along with facing possible criminal charges. Threatening gun violence is a felony.
While originally stating that extra-curricular events, such as athletic contests, would not be impacted by the lockout on Friday, Mancuso did wind up cancelling all after-school activities due to the number of absences. Along with the absences at the high school, over 500 students in grade K-8 did not attend school on Friday, although some Middle School eighth-grade students were not in school on Friday due to a French trip to Quebec, Canada.
While things were quiet on the campus on Friday, community residents were unnerved by a large blast that shook homes in Honeoye Falls and Lima and prompted some to take to social media wondering if something had happened at the school, The blast, however, was connected to work at the Hanson quarry.
Anyone with information about the threat can call the District office at 624-7000 or the district’s safety tip line at 624-7152.
