By Charles Young, The Exponent Telegram
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The recently created School Safety Task Force worked through more than 200 tips related to threats against 79 schools in 39 West Virginia counties following a series of incidents last week, officials said Thursday.
The investigations resulted in more than 20 arrests around the state, said Rob Cunningham, deputy secretary of the West Virginia Department of Homeland Security.
“There are people being held accountable,” Cunningham said. “There’s a total of 23 people in the state of West Virginia who have been arrested. That is a combination of juveniles and adults.”
Gov. Jim Justice emphasized the gravity of these threats and warned perpetrators of potential consequences.
“I’m going to promise you this,” he said. “It’s going to be a bad, bad, bad day — whether it’s a kid who’s doing something that he thinks is funny or she thinks is funny — you’re going to awaken to a situation that is really tough. People will go to jail for a long time. This is not funny stuff.”
