Penns Valley schools closed while police investigate ‘non-specific threat’ in high school

All Penns Valley Area schools are closed Tuesday while police investigate a “non-specific threat” found in the high school.

The threat was found written on a wall in the high school and state police were notified, Superintendent Brian Griffith wrote in a note early Tuesday morning to district families and shared in community Facebook groups. He wrote that all schools would be canceled as a precaution.

On Penns Valley’s website, it states the high school will be inaccessible until it is cleared by the state police team.

School-based threats resulting in closures are on the rise in Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania Attorney General Michelle Henry said recently. Many of the threats can be traced back to social media, where they spread rapidly, she wrote.

Last month, police investigated a bomb threat left in a voicemail to Bellefonte Elementary that was found to be not credible.

In Griffith’s note, he wrote that they plan to reopen school Wednesday with additional staff and police presence on site.

This story was originally published October 22, 2024 at 8:01 AM.