CHARLESTON. W.Va. -- Gov. Jim Justice has ordered the formation of a task force to help address and mitigate a wave of school threat across the state.
In the past week, schools all across West Virginia have been forced to deal with a myriad of potential threats of violence. None of the threats have yet been deemed credible, yet each needs to be thoroughly investigated. The task force is aimed at aiding resources strapped local authorities in the task.
Justice ordered the state Department of Homeland Security to establish a task force to help with the task of addressing each concern. The School Safety Task Force will actively compile and analyze all reported school threats by county, educational institution, and Safe Schools Unit Region to ensure a thorough and coordinated response.
State Attorney General, GOP gubernatorial nominee, Patrick Morrisey said it's a very serious situation that has to be addressed as quickly as possible.
"I do believe the governor has stepped up," Morrisey said. "He's focusing the Fusion Center and other agencies to investigate the threats, and obviously the state agencies are working together."
The task force will be made up of seven agencies in law enforcement: West Virginia Fusion Center, West Virginia State Police, West Virginia Safe Schools Unit,, West Virginia Intelligence Exchange, Federal Law Enforcement Partners, West Virginia Department of Education, and West Virginia Prevention Resource Officer Program.
Task force members will be responsible for coordinating with each county prosecutor on juvenile petitions and charges which stem from school threats to insure continuity in the legal process.
Charges have been filed in Kanawha, Preston and Logan counties.
Threats forced school officials in Monongalia County to postpone two football games, and Morgantown High School operated on a working lockdown Friday. Threats forced the early dismissal of classes at Preston High School and the Central Preston Middle School on Thursday and Friday. threats forced a lockdown at Chapmanville Regional High School.
"This kind of threat is not going to be tolerated, and certainly anyone considering this should understand everyone is at full attention," Morrisey said. "We'll do everything within our power to prevent these threats from happening."
Many of the schools threatened have been included on a list that has circulated on social media. The list has generated enough fear that some parents are holding children from classrooms and educators are increasingly occupied with safety concerns, not teaching. Monongalia County Superintendent Eddie Campbell said law enforcement officials believe the list is not credible, but they are unable to confirm the source.
"It's my understanding that over 45 schools in West Virginia have received such threats this month," Morrisey said. "I know there's a lot of effort put into this, and this is not something to mess around with; our kids are our most precious resource."
State and local agencies began the response that now includes the Pittsburgh Field Office of the FBI. Governor Justice has also directed the resources of the Fusion Center to get to the source of the threats.
"There's been a lot of work coordinating, but the role of an agency is to be on top of this," Morrisey said. "We have to make sure people know when you do things like this you really put everyone in a difficult position, and we can't have that in West Virginia."
The week of threats has had school systems putting emergency plans in place, changing schedules, and postponing extracurricular events. Morrisey hopes those responsible are identified and prosecuted.
"This is not something to play around with," Morrisey said. "We know things that have happened in other parts of the country, and we have to be ready for them. Any kind of hoax like that is going to be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law."
The governor's move includes the creation of a communication connect room to provide a centralized hub for all School Safety Task Force partners. This platform will be activated in the event of a critical incident, ensuring immediate coordination and response across agencies.
Justice said the task force is also committed to sharing all relevant information with our partners to ensure a unified and effective approach to school safety.