IFPD Chief: No credible threat in AR-15 letter received by parent
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WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE TO SEE OUR INTERVIEW WITH IDAHO FALLS POLICE CHIEF BRYCE JOHNSON
IDAHO FALLS — The Idaho Falls Police Department is speaking about a letter a woman reportedly received showing an AR-15 that threatened possible school violence.
Here is the statement released from the department:
Some of you may have received or heard about an email from School District 91 yesterday about a “suspicious postcard a D91 parent received in the mail. The Postcard included a vague reference to a weapon at a school…”
Two important points:
1) To be clear, the post card received by the family does not make threatening statements, does not mention any specific person, any specific school, nor does it make any direct threat of any kind.
The postcard had a photo of a semi-automatic weapon and the phrase “Coming to a school Near you ?”
If we receive information which would lead police to believe there is a threat, we will urgently notify schools, the public (and our media partners). At this time, however, the evidence we have does not substantiate a threat to the public.
2) The Idaho Falls Police Department is actively conducting a thorough investigation with a great sense of urgency. We have contacted the United States Postal Service to determine the origin of the postcard and are working on obtaining more information utilizing other resources. This investigation is ongoing. Again, if evidence is found which would lead police to believe is a threat to the public, the IFPD will act promptly and notify schools and the public promptly as well.
We take ALL incidents like this seriously and take precautions to protect the public– which we are doing in this case as well.
We understand things like this can make many people uneasy, especially given the incidents which have happened nationally. We can confidently say that our department is diligently working on this situation.
If you have information to share about this incident, please contact Idaho Falls Public Safety Dispatch at (208) 529-1200.