UPDATE: Threatening messages sent Thursday morning to QHS, JWCC; school officials say students are safe after search

QUINCY — Officials at John Wood Community College and Quincy High School reported receiving threatening messages Thursday morning.

Details about what was said in the fax sent to Quincy High School were not revealed in a press release from Joni Goodwin, public information officer for Quincy Public Schools. However, the release did say the threat was unrelated to recent gun-related incidents around Quincy.

Two Quincy men, Cayden R. Smith, 18, and Chaeto D. Nichols, 18, were arrested for aggravated discharge of a firearm in connection to a shooting incident on Tuesday at Sixth and Chestnut. Both are lodged in the Adams County Jail. A QPS official said Thursday neither man “shows up in the student directory” at Quincy High School.

Administration from Quincy High School and the Quincy Public Schools worked with the Quincy Police Department and the Quincy Public Schools Security Department to search the building at 33^rd and Maine. No threat was found.

The release said the campus is secure, and students and staff are “completely safe.”

Goodwin said no officials from the school or the district would be made available for interviews.

Michael Elbe, president at John Wood, sent a notice to students, staff and faculty Thursday morning about a threatening message received at the Quincy campus. 

“We have completed a search of campus,” he wrote in an email. “No threat was found, and we are qualifying this as a low-risk situation. We have no reason to believe the threat is credible and will be continuing with normal operations. JWCC police are working with local authorities to investigate the origin of the threat.

“We want to ensure the College community is safe and aware of this information.”

School officials did not reveal how the message was received at JWCC.