December 3rd

Remainders after the Rumors: Alleged Shooting Threats at Liverpool High School

As one of the largest high schools in Onondaga County, rumors spread fast in Liverpool. On December 3rd, 2021, allegations claimed that a student was armed with a gun. Also that day, students were sharing a threatening social media post from the previous night. The post included aggressive, concerning language.

Students took to social media to spread the word, many of them messaging parents or guardians. We spoke with Executive Principal Michael Baroody to gain insight into what happened that Friday.

Baroody notes that the administration became aware of the first threat during the morning of December 3rd.

He claims, “[t]here was not one person who heard the threat” and the interviewed students “each always heard the ‘rumors’ from someone else.”

Baroody informs us that the administration, upon hearing about the internet-perpetuated rumors, spoke with viewers, the original poster, and the poster’s family. The administration also contacted security staff and law enforcement. The conversations deemed the threat not credible.

Midday, students became aware of the potential threat, but not from administration: they found out from friends, many of these conversations occurring over social media. Liverpool senior Jack Hunter claims he first found out about the situation from a group chat with his friends.

“I was nervous,” he says. “I wanted to go home, especially after what happened in Michigan the week before.”

Hunter refers to the Oxford High School shooting, which occurred just three days before on November 30, in which four students were killed and seven more people were injured, including a teacher. Hunter’s mother even wanted him to go home, he tells us, and she was texting him throughout it all.

Similarly, McKenna Ecker, who is also a senior, says her mother was initially more concerned than she was.

Ecker found out about the alleged threats after fourth period when her friend found her. At first, Ecker was not that worried.

“I thought, ‘Oh, well, this has happened before,’” she states, “so I didn’t really worry about it.”

As the next hour passed, however, fear began settling in. Ecker’s phone was filled with texts from her concerned mother, but she “wasn’t expecting” such a reaction, she says.

“When she started freaking out, that’s when I was like, ‘Okay, this is more serious than I think it is,’” Ecker admits.

The seniors were pleasantly surprised by their parents' concern; however, they were not as pleased with the school’s actions.

“The school did not handle it well,” Hunter believes, “They kept everyone, including teachers, in the dark.”

English department chair and teacher Dr. Sara Ledwith, for example, did not find out about the threats until sixth period when her students were discussing them upon entering her classroom. Initially, she assumed the threats “were probably rumors that had gotten out of hand…since [she] hadn’t heard anything from administration.”

Despite this, she could tell her students “were really shaken up,” and says she, naturally, “took it seriously and…locked the door so they would feel more safe.”

Similar to Ledwith, Baroody says he wants students to understand how important safety is to the Liverpool administration.

“Safety is my number one priority,” he notes. “If a student sees anything concerning…, please inform your parents or a staff member as soon as possible.”

During periods four through six, students were conversing over social media apps, Snapchat especially, wondering what was happening in the building. Many students wanted to leave school and messaged their guardians in hopes of doing so.

Parents attempted to call Liverpool’s main office, but many were sent to voicemail, including my mother.

Witnessing this, Hunter says, “students were just walking right out.”

Students had hoped for stronger safety measures but were left unsatisfied. Thankfully, the students who left the building were safe while walking through the halls and parking lot. A large number of students messaged their friends and even met up with them to confirm safety.

Although social media allows messages to spread quickly, it can be difficult to manage truthful information.

“[T]here was a great deal of misinformation and rumors being spread online about the alleged situation,” Baroody says. “Many believe what they see online as the absolute truth, but in many cases, what they see is not accurate.”

If social media can be used to spread misinformation this quickly, it can also be used to communicate the truth with similar speed. Moving forward, it is important for the district to act on this effectively.

“Because teachers are the 'go-to' safe place for students generally,” Ledwith says, “when we don't have any information or answers for students, it's difficult for them to trust that everything is ok.” However, she does believe that the administration “has plans in place to improve communication in the future.”

This begs the question, “Where do we go from here?” Safety must be Liverpool’s greatest concern, but ensuring it is a lot easier said than done. It is important for the district to internalize not only students’ reactions from December 3rd but also their emotions.

Students want to see policies that prevent visitors from entering and exiting the building as easily as they can.

If we want to maintain safety, we have to acknowledge student concerns and what they hope to see from their school in the future. As a student body, we hope the Liverpool administration keeps safety as its number one priority and implements stronger safety measures to protect students, staff, and all Warriors.

By: Zakyra Ashby