Quincy Junior High lifts “secure mode”

QUINCY — Quincy Junior High School was placed into “secure mode” by the school’s administration Wednesday morning, meaning no one can enter the building.

Quincy School District lifted “secure mode” just after 11 a.m. and said no threat was posed.

QJHS Principal Brenda Fleer told staff the situation didn’t call for a specific threat, but the district wanted to “be vigilant and take the safety and security of our kids and staff very seriously.”

In a call to parents, Fleer asked them not to call about the situation, but if they wanted to come get their kids, they could. Staff members are helping students connect with their parents should parents want to remove their kids from the school.

“We will have extra staff and police presence just to make kids and parents feel safer,” she wrote. “Again, this is NOT because we feel there is a threat.”

She added that secure mode meant “business as usual” at the school.

An emailed statement by Kim Wert, assistant to Superintendent Todd Pettit, said QJHS went into secure mode because of the “continued sharing of Snapchats, online rumors and statements.”

“We continue to believe there is no specific threat to QJHS,” the statement read. “Because we are vigilant about the safety and security of our students and staff and must follow up on all statements, we are in secure mode with additional security. Students and staff will be going about their day as normal.

“QJHS is safe, but we respect parents’ choice to pick up their children and may do so by coming to the school’s main entrance on 14th street. I ask the community for your continued support as we navigate this situation discerning rumor from fact that is being shared online.”