After a full day investigating a possible threat that was written in graffiti in one of the bathrooms at Canby High School, Canby Police Lt. Jose Gonzalez said nothing was found to indicate the threat might be credible.
“We conducted an investigation, interviewed several people, clarified some things that were said, and based on that, we haven’t found anything that would lead us to believe it’s a concern,” he said. “We didn’t find anything that would lead us to believe anything’s going to happen today.”
The school district informed parents and the Canby High School community about the threat and investigation in a memo sent by Principal Greg Dinse at 7:45 p.m. Sunday. Principal Dinse expressed the belief that “We consider CHS to be safe,” and said classes would be held as scheduled today.
However, out of an abundance of caution, both the principal and Lt. Gonzalez said there would be increased police presence at the high school today — including some undercover — and possibly throughout the week.
“At this point, everything appears to be safe, but we take it seriously,” Lt. Gonzalez explained. “We take everything seriously. It’s always best to be cautious.”
Lt. Gonzalez was vague about the exact nature of the threat, which was evidently found by students last week but not reported to police until Sunday. He declined to discuss specifics while police are still investigating. This will be important in the event that a suspect or informant comes forward, so police will be able to easily determine that their information is genuine and based on actual knowledge rather than something they read in the news media.
“We don’t want to tip our hand about what we know and how we know it,” he said.
The investigation will continue throughout the week. Parents wishing to excuse their students from class today are encouraged to call the attendance office at 503-263-7210 or email chs-attendance@canby.k12.or.us.