Approximately 800 of Cranston West’s student body were absent from school last Friday, according to Cranston’s Chief Operating Officer of schools Ray Votto, due to a perceived shooting threat that happened sometime last week.  No violent act happened Friday, but Deputy Police Chief Todd Patalano said police would be using an enhanced security plan at West until the end of the school year.

An investigation into who made the threat, which was deemed “non-specific” in an email sent out to parents by school Principal Tom Barbieri last week, is still ongoing, according to Votto, and Patalano said that if the individual or individuals responsible for the threat are found they will be charged.

Patalano said that the department originally received information from West’s school resource officer, Derek DiMeo, about a written note on one of the walls in the school. 

Votto said that the “day in question” from the perceived threat was last Friday, May 25.

“Our responsibility as district leadership is to make sure our kids are safe day in and day out,” Votto said.  ‘When there are threats being made, that gets heightened.”

He said that the school worked with the police department to increase safety protocols, which according to Patalano meant an increased police presence in and around the school building. 

Votto said that the high absentee rate was largely due to Facebook communication between members of the school community, with parents “going back and forth” about what they thought was going on.  He said that direct communication is the best way to deal with a threat like this, and “Facebook is not the answer.”

“Information tends to get distorted,” Patalano added about the communication through Facebook.  “Information turns out to be misinformation.”

Votto said that the email sent by Barbieri was reviewed by the school administration and gave as much information to parents as they could.  He said that they would have sent the parents more updates, but they didn’t have anything new to tell them.  By Thursday, he added, they felt comfortable opening school and Friday “went on without a hitch.”

Eden Ladouceur, a student at West, said that she was “left in the dark” about the threat.

“The fact that there are more cops on campus makes me feel like there’s something to be concerned about,” she said last week.

Another student, Francesca Vachon, thought the increased police presence was a good thing, but thought communication could have been better and that deeming the threat “non-specific” made parents more nervous when more police showed up at the school. 

“No one should have to go to school with police officers everywhere, and I am not going to school tomorrow,” Vachon said last Thursday. 

Mikeicha Malloy, meanwhile, said the increased police presence wouldn’t deter her from going to her classes. “I’m going to school tomorrow because threats aren’t going to stop me from getting an education,” she said on Thursday.

Going forward, Votto said that both the schools and the police department will continue to investigate this threat but, for now, school has gone on as normal, with roughly 100 people absent Tuesday after the long weekend, which he said is just a little bit higher than the average.

“We’re concerned that somebody had to do that, and in all likelihood it is a student,” Votto said about the threat. 

Votto said that the attendance of staff and faculty was normal Friday despite the threat and school has continued as normal, though the investigation will continue and the safety of students will continue to be their “first and foremost” concern.

(With reports from Theresa Brown)