By Christopher Johnson
Farwell Area Schools officials are continuing an investigation into a reported gun threat that circulated among students earlier this winter, prompting concern from families. It has also renewed discussion about communication and safety procedures within the district.
This case concerns Farwell Middle School in particular.
According to testimony from a concerned mother, Cassie, whose child was reportedly named on a list connected to the threat, school officials “took it seriously and acted quickly to start the investigation” once they were notified on February 3.
The investigation began after screenshots of an alleged threat—which included references to “shooting up the school” and a list of students. The conversation occurred between two boys, while one referred to his father’s Desert Eagle as the weapon of choice. The targets on the list had the names of both boys and girls and had been mapped out with graphic intent to follow through.
These screenshots were eventually brought to administrators’ attention.
Cassie explains that the conversation thread had reportedly been circulating among students since January 14, though school officials were not notified until early February.
Two boys were identified, suspended and are currently under investigation.
While the parent acknowledged that administrators began investigating immediately, Cassie expressed concern that parents of students named on the list were not notified in what she described as a timely manner. She said she was contacted the day after the investigation began but was initially told there was “no credible threat” and was not made fully aware of the scope of the situation. Later conversations with her daughter revealed that students understood the threat to involve a list of intended targets. Essentially this was a situation where students knew more about what was going on than the school cared to share.
Cassie stated she later spoke with the school’s principal, who apologized for not fully conveying the gravity of the situation, explaining she had been attempting to avoid causing panic. The principal was reportedly out of the office on the day the investigation began.
The district’s school liaison officer and a representative from the Regional Educational Service District (RESD) were involved in the investigation. According to Cassie, the liaison officer, who covers all three school buildings, does not have direct access to student name records, which made identifying students listed in the screenshots more difficult.
With better funding, the school could employ two more liaison officers to occupy the remaining two buildings more closely, which is something that parents have been critical about. Given the gravity of the situation.
Cassie emphasized that she believes school officials acted in good faith and did their best under the circumstances, but said there is room for much improvement—particularly in the process for identifying and notifying families of students who may be directly impacted.
She also noted that there are currently no clear educational procedures in place to instruct students on how to report or navigate such threats should the danger ever arise. Not so much as a single poster or piece of literature.
Even nearby colleges and universities have this much available in passing for adult students. When the reality is gun violence is more frequent at the public school level.
The school’s superintendent’s excuse for this was because a “grant” had not been renewed for 2026, which is supposedly needed to fund an awareness campaign for school safety. Which parents have rejected as lazy and nonsensical. It’s also a very malnourished failure in the bigger picture, because most of the surrounding schools have some semblance of protocol where Farwell has none.
As an aside, there has also been backlash from parents about how the school downplays sexual harassment. Cassie and several other families have shared outrage over several instances of serial harassment by a rampant female student. Which grew so severe that charges were pressed after a victim called home crying about the ongoing ordeal at school.
So, in addition to gun threats, students feel unsafe for their personal safety as well.
It used to be boys were the built-in threat for girls at school, but now girls are afraid of being sexually harassed by other girls, while boys plot shooting sprees for weeks with impunity.
Therefore, Cassie proposed to the school board that FAS adopt a free program such as OK2SAY, which is free. She says, “I strongly urge the district to formally adopt the OK2Say program or a comparable, evidence-based reporting system and to pair it with annual, age-appropriate student safety education. Students must be explicitly taught that reporting concerns—whether verbal, written, digital, or behavioral—is an act of protection, not punishment.”
She contends that this education should include clear instruction on what constitutes a threat or concerning behavior, how and where to report concerns. Including options for anonymous reporting and the importance of reporting immediately, even if it seems old, uncertain, or secondhand. Students should also be reminded that choosing to remain silent can place others at risk. Implementing an annual assembly or a structured, classroom-based program would help ensure these expectations are consistently communicated and reinforced across all grade levels.
“I would like to see this as a learning moment and opportunity to improve rather than an attack on the school,” says the mother, adding that she has submitted a letter to the school board requesting procedural changes. “It’s not a matter of taking it seriously. They are.
“However, the process to identify threats and communicate them properly to families isn’t where it needs to be. I am concerned about the kids who made the threat as well, and I know community mental health helps them in that form. But I still feel we need to be firm in our response to the situation and not let other kids think it’s okay and can get away with it unpunished.”
Parents are encouraged to voice their opinions and criticisms as a school board meeting approaches on the 16th, which this mother and others plan on attending.
The investigation remains ongoing. More on this story as it develops.
Farewell Area Schools has yet to comment.
