The Project School, a public charter school in Bloomington, canceled school for students in grades three through eight Wednesday after a written threat was found on a bathroom wall Tuesday.
The written threat said, “School Shooting, 10/2/2024,” according to an email from The Project School Principal Lori Ihle and Superintendent Catherine Diersing sent to families.
They wrote in the email they evacuated the classroom building Tuesday afternoon around 2:15 p.m. The school enacted its safety plan and had all students and adults away from the building due to the anonymous threat written on a second-floor bathroom wall.
The school’s K-2 Field Day at Yard Dogs Farm would proceed as planned Wednesday, according to the email.
Bloomington Police Department Captain Ryan Pedigo said in an email that a detective responded to the Project School at approximately 2:15 p.m. regarding a threatening message that students found written on the wall of a bathroom stall.
Pedigo said after the detective interviewed several students who were in the presence of their parents, a 12-year-old girl was referred to Monroe County Juvenile Probation for the charge of Intimidation, a class A misdemeanor.
More than 700 children and teenagers in 45 states have been arrested and accused of making violent threats against schools after the Apalachee High School Shooting in September, according to the New York Times. These numbers are higher than usual.
School districts across Indiana are seeing an increase in threats, specifically made on social media, according to WRTV Indianapolis
Since 2019, there has been a total of seven fatal and non-fatal school shootings in or near K-12 schools in Indiana.
