Classes for Edina High School and Valley View Middle School were moved online Friday as police investigated a “credible threat.”
“This message is to inform you of a situation that occurred Thursday night. Law enforcement officers were made aware of a person on campus (not inside the building) at the high school who had a weapon, made a credible threat and left the campus. Police have been investigating overnight and working on leads. Out of an abundance of caution, the District has made the decision to move Edina High School and Valley View Middle School to online learning while the investigation continues,” the district said in an email to families early Friday morning.
Subsequently, other schools in the district were notified of the incident and told that additional law enforcement officers would be stationed at Edina school buildings throughout the day, although the threat “is limited to the high school.”
Alpha News observed a police presence outside of several district school buildings Friday morning. The parking lots at Edina High School and Valley View Middle School, which are right next to each other, were visibly empty.
The Edina Police Department is continuing to provide school resource officers (SROs) to district schools amid controversy over a new state law that has seen many agencies across the state suspend their SRO programs.
Sen. Alice Mann, a Democrat who represents Edina, signed onto a letter this month opposing calls from law enforcement to convene a special legislative session to change the law.
Earlier this year, Valley View Middle School was placed on a “soft lockdown” after five high school students attempted to carjack someone near campus. The Edina homecoming game was evacuated last September after several fights broke out.
Update: Edina policy say a 17-year-old boy was arrested in Minneapolis Friday morning in connection to the incident.
Police said in a statement that they received information around 8 p.m. Thursday night regarding a threat that occurred earlier in the day at Edina High School.
“The teenage boy took a Snapchat video of himself in the parking lot of the high school with a semi-automatic handgun and extended magazine in his lap. The caption in the video said, ‘Come outside, b***h,’ and the end of the Snapchat video captured the doors of the school. The teenager then left the campus,” police said.
Police said the teenager is not a former or current Edina High School student. He was located and arrested around 10:30 a.m. Friday in the 1500 block of East Franklin Avenue in Minneapolis.
“Although the threat was directed at one building, these incidents are unsettling and concerning for everyone in our community,” the district said in an update. “Our most urgent priority is the safety of our students and staff. Every action taken today was to act out of an abundance of caution to keep everyone safe.”
Anthony Gockowski
Anthony Gockowski is Editor-in-Chief of Alpha News. He previously worked as an editor for The Minnesota Sun and Campus Reform, and wrote for the Daily Caller.
