APD: School shooting threats in Alexandria deemed not credible

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — The Alexandria Police Department (APD) says it has investigated several threats against schools in the region and has deemed them to be not credible.

APD says the hoax threats have been made on social media and mention a fire alarm being pulled, followed by a planned school shooting, although no specific school is mentioned. The threats have reportedly been shared several times on social media, but police do not believe there is any real danger to Alexandria City Public Schools (ACPS).

The online threats against ACPS follow a series of similar threats within Virginia and also nationwide. That includes social media threats that induced school closures in Frederick County earlier this month.

APD says it investigated the threats in collaboration with the Northern Virginia Regional Intelligence Center (NVRIC), a Fusion Center of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Police are asking the public not to share suspected threats on social media, but contact APD directly if there is any suspicious activity to report.