Police: Broken Arrow Student Suspended For Making Threat

Quite a few Broken Arrow parents took their high school students out of class Thursday after reports of a threat to students.

Police say the student was suspended earlier this week and say the threat wasn't credible. Police tell us the student sent someone a text threatening to hurt two other students.

Russell Perkins is just one of hundreds of students checked out of Broken Arrow High School after the district sent out a notice to parents saying a student had threatened to harm other students.

"It's something that you have to take seriously, regardless of whether they follow through or not," Perkins said.

Broken Arrow Police say this all stems from a student who posted on Instagram Wednesday night that his step brother overheard a student saying he had a hit list of students he wants to hurt.

"We had already been investigating and had the situation under the control," said Corporal Leon Calhoun, Broken Arrow Police Department.

The school made the announcement publicly Thursday on its Twitter page:

The student said in a text that two students were on his hit list, and the school district had already suspended him indefinitely, police say. Officers stress that parents should not be concerned because the student who made the threat is with his parents and does not have access to weapons.

At the high school, most of the parents and students we spoke to said they're not too worried. But they still checked their child out of class because they say you can never be too safe.

If students hear of such a threat, tell parents or police, Calhoun said. He said the act of sharing it on social media makes their investigation more difficult. 

Police posted a heightened presence at the campus Thursday. Absences will be excused if parents want to keep their kids home, the school district announced. Classes will continue as scheduled.

Broken Arrow Public Schools