The Great Falls Police Department provided an update on Jan. 17 about the threat received to schools across the state the night before.

GFPD said that about 8:30 p.m. Jan. 16, it was notified by Great Falls Public Schools of a concerning email, triggering immediate collaboration between the two entities.

GFPD and GFPS determined Tuesday night that the threat wasn’t specific or credible and GFPS would continue their regular school schedule Wednesday.

As a precaution GFPD increased its presence at local schools on Jan. 17.

Threats made to schools across Montana; GFPS remains open; Cascade school closed Wednesday

“Any threats against our schools are taken seriously and are handled with the utmost caution,” according to an email from GFPD.

GFPD is continuing to investigate the email and “through further investigation it has been determined the email originated from outside the United States. The email itself was a ‘group’ email and did not name any specific school,
district, or community. The same email was in fact dispersed to several school districts in Montana,” according to GFPD.

GFPD encouraged parents and guardians to talk to students about communicating any threatening behavior to a responsible adult.

Cascade Public Schools also received the email and opted to close school on Jan. 17.

Cascade will reopen Jan. 18 for normal operations.

Belt schools did not receive the email and operated normally.

Jenn Rowell

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