Threat of violence at middle school in Antioch Wednesday night
By non-student, non-resident
By Acting Lt. Michael Mellone #4323, Antioch Police Support Services Division
The Antioch Police Department was made aware of a threat of violence at Dallas Ranch Middle School yesterday, evening, Wednesday, Nov. 16, 2022.
We took immediate steps to investigate the threat and have determined it was made by a non-student who does not live in the area. While the investigation remains ongoing, officers will be working with school officials to provide ongoing extra patrol of the campus and surrounding area.
Our officers are trained to address threats at school campuses, giving absolute priority to protecting human life. Anyone who sees anything suspicious on or near any school campus is asked to contact us at (925) 778-2441 or 9-1-1 if an emergency. You can also a text an anonymous tip to 274637 (CRIMES) using the keyword ANTIOCH.
UPDATE: Antioch Unified School District Superintendent Stephanie Anello was asked for additional details and what the school and district personnel did in response. Lindsay Lopez–Wisely, Director of Educational Services, Secondary Support for AUSD shared the following Thursday afternoon:
“At 7 am this morning Principal Spires received a message from a parent regarding a threating Instagram post. The parent confirmed that the police were contacted late last night. Principal Spires then contacted me, and we immediately called the APD dispatch and they put us in touch with the supervising officer – Officer Hughes.
Officer Hughes worked with both Principal Spires and myself as we immediately investigated the source of the social media post. We discovered immediately that the post was from a non-student who had moved out of the area. We were able to reach a guardian and confirm the student was safe and did not have any weapons. APD worked directly with that police department and assured the district that there was no threat against the DRMS campus or students. They kept several officers out front as an added safety measure during morning drop off. We also placed additional security personnel (STM) to start the school day. We immediately notified parents on the Remind App about the situation.
This was a great example of parents, school administration, and our police department working together to keep our students safe. When any school stakeholder sees something suspicious on social media or anywhere in the community it is important to say something. We would like to thank the parent for acting quickly contacting police and administration.
Here is the Remind Message we sent out to families:
‘Yesterday evening, a former student decided to write a threat on social media. A parent saw the post and immediately contacted Antioch Police Department and our Administrative team. Through our immediate action and the swift APD response, we have verified that there is no viable threat. We would like to thank the Antioch Police Department and the parent who notified us. Student safety is our top priority, out of an abundance of caution we will have additional officer support on the campus. As always if you have questions, please contact the school office at 925-779-7485.’”
Allen D. Payton contributed to this report.
the attachments to this post:
APD Important Advisory
