Approximately 2,000 students were absent by midday Thursday due to two threats against the school, according to Principal Dr. Darrell Echols. The original shooting threat was written in school bathroom stalls on Monday and two copycats appeared on Wednesday and Thursday and spread on social media. Parents and students had the choice of whether or not to attend school and yesterday was an excused absence day for students.

“The main reason that I didn’t go to school was that I heard a lot about the shooting threat that was taking place and I wanted to be safe rather than sorry,” senior Rahul Kartha said. 

Students who did not come to school expressed concerns about the potential safety threat while others felt that going to school would be unnecessary, given the amount of students who did not attend. Hallways and classrooms were visibly emptier and the number of students dwindled as the day went on. 

“I don’t blame parents for telling students to stay home, and I don’t blame students for not wanting to come,” language arts teacher Kristen DiGorgio-Kadich said.

In a departure from the usual position, Dr. Echols decided that students who are involved in the Collage concert were able to still participate even if they missed school. 

Other students felt the need to attend school, due to assessments or the close proximity to finals, and did not feel that the threat would not be carried out. 

“I came to school today because I knew that there would be increased security if anything were to happen and I also knew that a lot of things being spread around were just rumors,” senior Madi Pfeiffer said. 

The Aurora Police Department investigated the threats and found that neither were credible. School discipline and legal consequences are underway for the students who wrote the message and those who spread it online. The student who wrote the original message on Monday was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct. A second student was arrested on Thursday.