School Messenger Call / Email to JHS families and staf

Tuesday, Sept. 13 / 10 a.m.

This is Principal Chuck McDonnell with a message for all Jefferson High
School families and staff.
I again want to assure everyone that there is no information indicating
anyone else was involved in Fridays incident. As we shared yesterday, the
District and the CR Police Department are aware of, have been monitoring,
and are continuing to investigate the social media posts that have been
shared since Friday.
The District takes seriously any threat or rumor of threat to the safety and
security of students and staff, and investigates, in collaboration with law
enforcement. Again, there is no evidence of any specific, credible threat to
students and staff at Jefferson. Counseling support remains available.
Both the Cedar Rapids Community School District and the Cedar Rapids
Police Department are committed to providing a safe school environment.
Additional police officers were again present at Jefferson this morning to
reassure students, staff, and parents.
Anyone with information related to this incident is encouraged to contact the
Cedar Rapids Police Department Criminal Investigative Division at (319) 2865400.

Intercom announcement made to all students

Tuesday, Sept. 13 / 1 p.m.
Text emailed to parents immediately following the announcement
There have been a lot of rumors circulating through our school community
since Fridays tragic student suicide outside the school. I want to address
some of those rumors with you and update everyone as we go forward.
First of all There no video evidence that the student was ever inside the
school on that morning. I can confirm that the video you may have seen
showing the inside of our school was recorded on Tuesday, Sept. 6. He
recorded it alone; no one else was involved.
We have been working with the CR Police Department since Friday to follow
up on and thoroughly investigate the rumors and comments posted on social
media. Law enforcement has found no proof that the tragedy involved
anyone other than this individual. No one else was involved. Also -

There is no indication that this individual ever shared any plan to hurt
himself or others with any staff member. There was a social media post that
a bag of weapons was left on campus. This is also not true.
Your safety is our top priority, and the police are investigating all rumors and
social media comments. They will continue to do this. If you have a concern,
please contact me. Speculation and rumor sharing on social media will not
help.
We need to focus our attention on caring for one another and healing. Our
entire J-Hawk community is hurting, and we also need to remember that one
of our families is suffering the greatest pain imaginable.
Remember - if you need support, please visit with a counselor or staff
person. If you have a concern about anyone else needing support, please
make a staff member aware right away.