Wilson Central School District investigating 'concerning' social media message

Wilson Central School District is the fourth Niagara County school district this week dealing with perceived threats on social media.

In a communication to district residents Thursday afternoon, Superintendent Tim Carter said that a high school student received a "concerning" Snapchat message.

"Similar messages have been received by other schools in Niagara and Erie County recently," Carter's message reads in part. "The message does not reference any direct threat to the Wilson Central School District. Upon receiving the information, our SRO and administration investigated the post and determined that at no time was the safety of the students or the school campus in jeopardy."

The district communication did not further specify the contents or origin of the post.

Carter urged parents to monitor their children's social media activity and encouraged anyone with questions or concerns to contact him directly.

Earlier Thursday, Lewiston-Porter Central School District Superintendent Paul Casseri sent out a message stating a Lew-Port Middle School student received a concerning Snapchat message. That message referenced other reported incidents and eluded to further incidents in schools.

On Tuesday, the Lockport and Newfane school districts shared messages with parents about social media threats and both districts subsequently heightened security measures in the form of police presence at their schools.

Later that day, a juvenile girl was arrested and charged with one count of making a threat of mass harm following a joint investigation by the Niagara County Sheriff's Office Criminal Investigation Bureau and the City of Lockport Police Detective Bureau.

Elsewhere, the Clarence Central School District announced Monday it was taking heightened security measures due to similar threats.