Student’s social media post increased alarm prior to Westover High School fights

ALBANY — Alarm over a social media post sent out the evening of Dec. 8 by a student in the wake of several fights at a Dougherty County high school added to confusion the following day as parents rushed to remove their children from the school.

An investigation by the Dougherty County School System has revealed that several fights that occurred at Westover High School were unrelated, Dougherty County Schools Superintendent Kenneth Dyer said.

A student wrote a post suggesting that one of the students involved in the fights could return to the campus the next day armed, and the message was picked up and spread online, Dyer said.

“Overnight, several media posts speculated about (acts) of violence,” the superintendent said. “They were speculative in nature, with no (relation) to things that were going to happen.”

On the Thursday following the fights, the school system increased security at the campus, and the Albany Police Department sent a unit to help with traffic control as worried parents came to pick up their children. No additional incidents occurred.

The Dougherty County Schools Police Department also was joined by deputies with the Dougherty County Sheriff’s Office to ensure that students and staff were safe, the superintendent said.

“The threats that were posted on social media were found not to be credible threats,” Dyer said.

Still, he said he could understand the concern of parents who were alarmed after viewing the posts online.

“The posts that were placed on social media were found not to be credible,” he said. “We had dozens of parents who decided to take their kids out. Parents were concerned. I understand the parents’ reaction. I’m concerned, too.”

The day after the fights, the school system reported that some students had recorded fights on their phones and posted them online.

Staff Photo: Alan MauldinAlanMauldin[email protected]