Harbor Ridge Middle and Peninsula High Schools to Increase Police Presence on Friday

The Peninsula School District said Pierce County Sheriff’s Deputies and Gig Harbor Police will be on the Peninsula High School and Harbor Ridge Middle School campuses on Friday after one of the schools received a possible safety threat earlier this week.

On Monday, Dec. 17, Harbor Ridge Middle School administrators received a report from a student about the possibility of school safety being compromised on Friday, Dec. 21, according to the Peninsula School District Academic Officer Daniel Gregory.

A Peninsula High School student had made a statement to a sibling who attends Harbor Ridge about Friday, Dec. 21, and its association with the Mayan calendar. The statement included vague language that could be construed as threatening in nature. The sibling shared the statement with other students. As the story was shared amongst students different versions evolved.

Harbor Ridge administrators contacted the Peninsula High School principal about the situation and the PHS student’s involvement. The Peninsula principal, in turn, informed our School Resource Officer.

The School Resource Officer made contact with the student and the student’s parent.

The Pierce County Sheriff’s Department and the District are confident that the statement made by the student did not pose a credible threat, said Gregory.

One local parent told Patch that parents have received a letter regarding the issue, and some have decided against sending their child to school on Friday for precautionary measures.

“We understand parents’ sensitivity to school safety and trust they will use their best judgment when choosing to send their students to school on Friday,” said Gregory.

This Friday will be one week after the devastating . 

"In light of the tragedy which occurred last week, all of our schools are on heightened awareness, as I understand law enforcement agencies to be, as well," said Gregory. "This has increased our sensitivity to recognizing situations which may compromise the safety of schools and increased the aggressiveness and level of detail in how we follow up on situations such as these. I believe this is the approach taken by school districts across the nation."  

Friday, Dec. 21, is an early release day with high schools out at 10:45 a.m., middle schools at 11:30 a.m. and elementary at 12:15 p.m. 

Would you feel comfortable sending your child to school tomorrow? Tell us in the comments section below.