Published Saturday, April 24, 1999 A frightening comment was enough to put Jamestown Area High School administrators on edge Thursday.
An eighth-grader was overheard saying that if he had a gun he would shoot off someone's kneecaps, Jamestown Superintendent David Shaffer said.
The comment was reported to school officials, who called in the students and his parents, Shaffer said.
The boy's remarks "were not intended to be a threat, but we have to follow our procedures," he said.
The boy was suspended from school until a mental health assessment can be completed, Shaffer said.
Although there was no violence or threats of violence, there were similarities between the incident Thursday at Jamestown Area High School and the shootings Tuesday in Littleton, the superintendent said.
The boy expressed regrets for what he did, Shaffer said, adding, "He did something without thinking. But in these times, we have to take it seriously.''
And Lakeview administrators have taken seriously a "multitude of rumors'' about bomb threats and threats against students and teachers in the past couple of days, Superintendent Paulette Savolskis said in a press release Friday.
District officials have been in contact with Sandy Lake Police Chief Donald Oakes and State Police Lt. Billy Williams, she said, adding administrators have investigated every rumor but none have proven true. State police said reports that a juvenile had made threats at at Lakeview Monday were unfounded.
Parents will receive a letter from district officials outlining the district's security measures, she said.
In Lawrence County, state police said a 16-year-old boy threatened to do bodily harm to numerous individuals at Laurel High School in Hickory Township. Charges against the boy will be filed in juvenile court, police said.
The local incidents aren't isolated. On Friday alone, the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency reported 19 bomb threats in 17 counties. Over the last three days, there have been 38 bomb threats in 19 counties.
Most of the threats are made by pranksters angling for the attention and praise of their peers, said Kevin Dwyer, president-elect of the National Association of School Psychologists in Bethesda, Md.
"These are usually kids who are not disturbed. They really do think it's funny; they don't understand the seriousness of what they are doing," Dwyer said.
Dr. Tim Kirby, superintendent of Council Rock School District in suburban Philadelphia said bomb scares and threatening pranks cost the school money -- but more important, peace of mind.
"The big cost is emotional. A place that you have a right to expect is safe, now you have doubts in your mind," he said. A rumor Thursday that a student would bring a gun to school -- and use it -- forced the closing and search of Council Rock high school Friday.
Gov. Tom Ridge asked school districts Friday to provide forums for parents, schools and law enforcement to share their concerns about school violence and coordinate efforts to prevent it.
Ridge also said that school threats will not be tolerated.
"This is not a joke. It is not funny -- not one bit. When we catch you -- and we will -- the consequences will be swift and severe," he said in a statement.
Elsewhere, Trench coats like the ones worn by the two gunmen were banned in Denver and two other Colorado districts since the attack for fear they could be used to hide weapons. They were also banned at a high school in Fredericton, in Canada, because they made some students uncomfortable.
Bennett Leventhal, a child psychologist at the University of Chicago, suggested that some schools are overreacting. He said that statistically, schools are extremely safe.
Students who threaten violence should be taken seriously, Leventhal said. But he added: "Most schools are far better equipped with social workers, teachers, counselors, than the police. They don't need the police just because there was a shooting in Colorado this week."
