Just one day after gang related activity left one dead and six more injured over the weekend, safety concerns continue to spark throughout Albany.
Westover High School received threatening text messages about a possible gang shooting this morning. Although the rumors were quickly put to rest, concerned parents didn't take the threat lightly.
Rumors swept through the halls of Westover High School today that there would be a gang shooting at 11:30 this morning.
"Text messaging [was] going around some speculation, that there were some possible problems here," said Westover Principal William Chunn.
But the threats raised enough concern that the Police Gang Task Force showed up not only at Westover, but all High Schools in Dougherty County.
"They did come out to check on us just to make sure we were in good shape and make sure all of our students were safe," Chunn said.
But that didn't ease the mind of some concerned parents, including Mary Heard, who pulled her 11th grade daughter out of class.
"My mind wouldn't be at ease knowing that there was just a threat to our kids today," she said. And she says it's a threat that should be taken seriously. "Everything that is going on now a days, what happened at Columbine, you know, this is something I take seriously. It may have just been a text, but that text could lead to something else."
Principal Chunn says they are doing everything they can to keep the students safe. "Some parents did come to check their children out and that can be expected and we want to put those parent's mind at ease that we're doing everything we can here at Westover to keep the students safe."
The rumors turned out to be just that. No shooting happened, but security will remain heightened because of recent gang violence.
Police say the gang related threat has not been connected with the recent shootings over the weekend and all incidents are still under investigation.
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