By Brooke Swinehart
Penn Manor High School is operating like normal schedule today after rumors circulated about gun threats in school.
According to Lancaster Online, a male student said on Thursday that he was going to bring a gun to school and use it against the administration. Another student heard the threat being made and reported it.
Currently, the student who made threats has been removed from school and faces disciplinary and legal action.
“If a situation like this happens, the first focus is safety for everyone. We may notify family, but there is a different method for every issue and if everyone needs to be aware. If students don’t need to be aware we will deal with it as a disciplinary action. If students don’t hear any news, just trust the administration,” said principal Dr. Phil Gale.
Students had a range of reactions about the rumors today.
“I didn’t know about it till after second block. My sister’s first block talked about it the whole period. I wasn’t nervous at all because other schools had bomb and shooting threats, and that was taken care of,” said senior Olivia Hertzler.
“I heard about it yesterday night. I saw something about a shooting on facebook, and then someone posted something about it on snapchat. I was kind of nervous. When I heard the kid was arrested, I wasn’t as scared. It was also good to see cops here,” said junior Candace Leaman.
“I wasn’t that nervous because some kids just say stuff and don’t mean it,” said junior Jaymie DeJesus.
“I heard about the threat on Facebook. Yes, I was nervous because I didn’t want to get shot. My one friend didn’t even come in because he didn’t want to risk it,” said junior Scott Thatcher.
“I was nervous when walking from my car when I saw the police car sitting outside administration that kind of made me a little nervous,” said junior Parker Wales.
“A kid on my bus said that there was a gun threat. Yes, I was nervous; nobody notified anybody. There wasn’t a call home and I didn’t find out about it till I was at school. My mom would of kept me home,” said junior Vincent Fiorella.
“I found out in first block, and I believe they had already caught him. I was nervous because it was right after the shooting in Oregon. I was stressed because we could be next,” said junior Zachary Holsinger.
The district published a statement late Thursday night that acknowledged that an incident had been reported and dealt with.