STURGIS, S.D. – Law enforcement and the Meade 46-1 School District investigated a reported threat that put schools in Sturgis and Piedmont-Summerset on secure status Friday.
Authorities say staff at Stagebarn Middle School, Summerset SD, received a report of a possible threat Friday morning to students and staff. Due to the nature of the threat and the generalities associated with the threat, all Meade 46-1 schools were placed into secure status. Law Enforcement worked diligently to track the threat and identify everyone involved with the threat.
Early in the investigation it was clear this threat was mirroring the threat encountered by the Rapid City School District last week and investigated by the Rapid City Police and Pennington County Sheriff’s Office.
Once all parties were located and identified, it was clear this was not a new threat. This was the same threat fully investigated by the RCPD and PCSO last week,
Meade School District Superintendent Wayne Wormstadt “We take all threats of harm to our students and staff seriously.. The decision to go into secure status is not a decision taken lightly as we are well aware of the stress created for parents, students and staff. Our close partnership with law enforcement made it clear this was the correct decision at this time. As soon as the threat was determined as not credible, we pulled the schools out of secure status and returned to normal operations”.
Chief Rich Nasser, Summerset Police Department, “The combined investigative forces of the Summerset PD, Sturgis PD, Meade County Sheriff’s Office, Pennington County Sheriff’s Office, and the Rapid City Police Department, were brought together and worked efficiently to get the threat investigated. Rest assured every threat will be taken seriously and investigated to ensure the safety of our community’s children and families. The level of cooperation and communication between so many law enforcement agencies were again a trademark of the interagency cooperation we have grown accustomed to in our area.”
Chief Geody Vandewater, Sturgis Police Department, “Schools were all placed into secure status, which is much different than an actual lock down. At no point were any of the schools in a lock down status. The key differences between lock down and secure status is that during a secure status all the doors and entrances are locked, but classes continue as normal for students and staff. A full lockdown is reserved for a confirmed actual threat where students and staff go into hiding or rely on the training they have been provided for such emergencies.”
Sheriff Pat West, “Unfortunately these incidents are becoming all too common. The world of social media and the problems associated with these different platforms allow for the exchange of too many inappropriate messages and photos. We are encouraging everyone to stop when they see a threat or disturbing messaging and report the threat to officials immediately. Do not share links, or messages as these often spread like wildfire and make the ensuing investigations much more difficult. REPORT, DON’T SHARE, should be the model moving forward.”
Secure status for all schools was released shortly after 10:00 am this morning. All schools should be functioning as normal throughout the rest of the day.
All agencies involved in this incident:
Meade County School District
Rapid City School District
Summerset Police Department
Sturgis Police Department
Rapid City Police Department
Pennington County Sheriff’s Office
Meade County Sheriff’s Office
South Dakota Highway Patrol
