December 5th, 2017 by WCBC Radio

Allegany County Public Schools today issued a statement concerning yesterday's increased police presence at Mountain Ridge High School in Frostburg:

Entirely as a precaution, there was an increased police presence yesterday at Mountain Ridge High School due to unconfirmed rumors regarding a potential threat. At all times, there is a School Resource Officer assigned to Mountain Ridge. 

The school was never placed in lock-in or lockdown. Lock-in and lockdown are two basic response procedures to emergency situations to reduce the risk to students and staff. In the event of a lockdown situation, all classroom doors and exterior doors will be secured, and all movement within the school will cease. A lock-in is a less restrictive response and is typically utilized when a potential threat is originating from an outside source within the immediate surrounding area. This posture increases school security, while retaining the ability to continue to operate normally within the school. Since the implementation of the badge entry system in all schools, a lock-in is not a significant change from a normal school day.

Extensive interviews have been conducted by MSP without any conclusive evidence that any threat was credible. "The Maryland State Police conducted an investigation into the allegation of a threat involving a firearm at Mountain Ridge High School on December 3, 2017.  Several witnesses were interviewed and no credible threat was identified," stated Lieutenant H.B. Martz of the Maryland State Police.

According to Superintendent of Schools, Dr. David Cox, "Student safety and wellbeing is our number one concern. Any time there is any suspicion of potential harm, we respond appropriately by immediately contacting and working with law enforcement officers, and we take our lead from them."

Law enforcement officers assess the level of any potential threat and guides ACPS to take the appropriate level of response to ensure student safety. School system protocols, developed with guidance from Federal, State, and local authorities, are not public information in order to mitigate any vulnerability by potential perpetrators. 

"As a parent, I understand how frightening yesterday's situation was given the unfortunate, but unrelated, events that occurred in our community on Saturday evening. Please know that we will always aspire to err on the side of caution when it comes to the safety of our kids," said Dr. Cox. 

Any time that an incident occurs within schools, system administrators debrief with law enforcement officers in an effort to improve communication protocols. In emergency situations, ACPS may inform parents using multiple means, including local media outlets, social media, website updates, and automated messages. All avenues selected for use are deployed simultaneously; however, social media updates are the most expedient as they occur instantaneously. The nature of the situation will determine which method(s) of communication will be used.