Whatcom Sheriff’s Office, school district investigate second threat found on bathroom wall

WHATCOM — The Mount Baker School District and Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office are investigating a second school threat found this week on a bathroom wall on the high school campus.

“This afternoon we discovered a new threat scratched on the wall in a boy’s bathroom in our 700 building at the high school,” a letter from high school principal Matthew Durand and junior high principal Troy Wright emailed Monday, Oct. 18, to families with students in those schools and Mount Baker Academy and preschool parents. “The threat read ‘October 28 a lot will die.’

“We know that this was done today as the threat was not there this morning. We are thoroughly investigating the situation and have reported it to the Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office; we recognize that these are serious offenses that will be prosecuted.”

Whatcom County Undersheriff Doug Chadwick said the threat was scratched into a bathroom paper dispenser.

The second threat came 18 days after another message was found Sept. 30 scratched into the wall of the men’s bathroom in the field house stating, “School Shooting October 28.”

That threat was difficult to read, according to Superintendent Mary Sewright at the time, and it was not known exactly when it was made.

But, like the first threat, Durand and Wright reported that the second was being taken “very seriously.” They promised updates as more information was gathered and that the district planned for increased law enforcement presence on the schools’ campus.

“We are all shaken by the recent threats of violence on the secondary campus. The safety and well-being of our school community is our number one priority,” Sewright said in a letter emailed to students, staff, families and the community on Wednesday, Sept. 20.

In her letter, Sewright reiterated that the school district has ongoing relationships with area law enforcement agencies, including the sheriff’s office, Tribal police and Border Patrol.

The junior and high school campus also already practice fire, earthquake and lockdown drills with students monthly, Sewright wrote, and staff covers procedures throughout the school year. The district planned to do a lockdown drill on Thursday.

But Sewright also emphasized the importance of family involvement in keeping schools safe, writing “80% of guns used in school violence are taken from the home of the shooter or the homes of relatives or friends. Teens are experiencing unprecedented mental health challenges right now and we encourage you to continue checking in on your student (and their friends!).”

Talking with students to see if they know of anything about threats at school is extra important, she wrote, adding that another person knew about a shooter’s plans in 77% of shootings.

“All school staff members are ready to listen to any information you or your students have about this (or any) threat on campus,” Sewright wrote.