WASHINGTON — Regular school activities will resume in Charlottesville, Virginia, on Thursday after a social media threat on Wednesday that made reference to the recent mass shooting in Las Vegas led to the posting of police at all public and many private schools.
The Charlottesville police said in a statement Wednesday evening that the FBI told them they “identified the source of the social media comments in another state and the situation has been resolved.” They said the department would have increased patrols at schools on Thursday “to ensure that students, parents and school staff feel safe.”
The school department said in a letter to parents that the police have “given the all-clear.”
Officers were posted at all public schools in Charlottesville, as well as many of the private schools, on Wednesday.
Lt. Stephen Upman, of the Charlottesville police, told WTOP early Wednesday afternoon that they heard from the FBI about a post on a message board “expressing discontent with recent events in Charlottesville.”
The poster added that he or she admired the shooter in Las Vegas and that Charlottesville — “in particular, schools within the city, should be the next target.”
A “modified lockdown” was also put into effect. Students kept to their normal routines in school, but weren’t allowed out of the building during the school day.
WTOP’s Kristi King contributed to this report.
