Meeting planned tonight to address school threats

The Whitefish School District and the Whitefish Police Department are hosting a community-wide meeting on Monday, Sept. 18 to answer questions in regard to recent cyber threats to Flathead County school districts.

The meeting is at 7 p.m. at the Whitefish Performing Arts Center at the middle school.

Staff at Whitefish schools returned to work Monday and students are set to go back Tuesday following electronic threats that canceled classes and activities for three days beginning on Thursday, Sept. 14.

“We would like to thank our Whitefish families and staff for your patience as we continue to work to keep our students and staff safe,” Superintendent Heather Davis Schmidt said in a release Sunday. “The threats launched last week against Whitefish Schools and other schools in the Flathead Valley caused disruption to our school communities. The best law enforcement teams in the country continue to work to resolve this situation.”

The threats originated in the Columbia Falls School District including text or email threats, according to the Flathead County Sheriff’s Office. The threats also extended to Whitefish and Kalispell schools.

Flathead County Sheriff Chuck Curry said that the suspect also “hacked” the Columbia Falls district network and began contacting a small group of parents with threats.

“Investigators from local, federal and international agencies have continued to work around the clock on the cyber terrorism case that has affected our area schools,” Curry said in a Sunday press release. “Investigators continue to make progress in identifying and determining the location of the suspect in this case.”

The suspect does not appear to be in the area, according to the Sheriff’s Office.

Curry said that law enforcement officials have meet with school administrators and advised them that the threats delivered over the Internet appear to be verbal in nature and “crafted to incite fear.”

“Again, public safety and the safety of our children remain our paramount concern and focus,” Curry said. “In that interest we will be assisting area schools with security assessments tomorrow, and will maintain a law enforcement presence in our schools until we are able to apprehend the suspect, or further discredit the threat.”