How murky social media messages led to a lockdown, mass absences at Woodlawn High

A screengrab from an unidentified video predicting that violence was coming soon to Woodlawn High School began circulating over the weekend on social media. Despite uncertainty about how serious the threat was, school officials opted to issue an alert Sunday afternoon informing parents about this possible threat.

In an automated message, Scott Stevens, principal of the Baton Rouge public high school, did not initially share any details about the threat, except to say that it emerged from social media. Stevens said school would continue Monday as planned with increased security on campus — the school briefly went on lockdown while East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s deputies searched campus.

“Please understand preventative measures have already been active and will continue as additional assessments are made and please be assured that we are exercising every precaution for the safety and well being of our students and our staff,” Stevens said.

Sunday’s alert to parents led predicably to very low attendance Monday.

Despite the presence of four deputies at the 15755 Jefferson Hwy. campus that day, only about 40% of the school’s nearly 1,400 students were officially in attendance. More students checked out as the day continued, particularly after the high school went into lockdown during second block as deputies conducted a search of part of the campus, which that Principal Stevens later informed parents was a “lockdown drill.”

More information has emerged since — but much of the picture remains clouded.

School officials soon revealed that the threat came from a post on Instagram by a student who had been identified. It turns out, however, that it was not a regular post, but a screengrab from a live Instagram video that is unavailable after it plays except to the person who posted it.

“No one has a copy or any evidence of the post,” explained Casey Rayborn Hicks, a spokeswoman for the East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff’s Office.

All that authorities have had to go on is what Hicks describes as “third-hand information.”

No arrests have been made as yet in the case. Deputies confronted the student identified as having posted the live video, but came away empty.

“The student denied it, but we are investigating,” Hicks said.

The post that circulated over the weekend shows a screenshot of yet another video. A message is written below saying that “boys” who were involved in a recent fight are “going live posting guns saying wait until Monday and they are shooting at witnesses too.”

It’s not clear what fight is referenced. Woodlawn High has had periodic fights, including a fight a month ago that was captured on video and made the news.

It is also not clear how serious the threat of violence was.

Superintendent Sito Narcisse’s office declined to shed more light on their decision to alert parents about the threat on Sunday.

“It would be irresponsible to share the details of our safety/security judgment decisions,” the office wrote.