Dunbar student shares threatening virtual message but it’s not credible, officials say

A Paul Laurence Dunbar High school student used the AirDrop feature on their iPhone to circulate a threatening message to students claiming that an act of violence would be committed against the school on Friday, November 18, the acting principal said in a letter to families Thursday.

Andrea Tinsley, Acting Principal of Paul Laurence Dunbar High School, said in her letter that the threatening message encouraged students not to attend school Friday. AirDrop is a feature found on Apple devices that allows users to wirelessly share out documents and other files to other Apple devices, like iPhones.

Officials will continue investigating the incident, but Tinsley said law enforcement doesn’t think it’s a credible threat.

”Several students quickly alerted our administrative team and an investigation was immediately launched with the FCPS Police Department,” Tinsley said. ”While some may think this is a joke, it is important that our students understand that making threats against a school is a felony under state law.”

Fayette district officials did not immediately say if the student was criminally charged.