The message appeared on Snapchat last Wednesday: A student allegedly warned classmates not to come to school the following Monday, March 17. The vague but ominous threat spread quickly among Summit Middle School students, setting off a wave of anxiety among parents who, in the absence of clear information from officials, were left to piece together details on their own.
After a student flagged the post to administrators that same day, the school sent a short email to families stating that a “safety concern” had been “promptly mitigated” but provided no details on the nature of the threat. A Boulder Police Department spokesperson later said the threat was found to be “not credible,” but did not elaborate, citing an ongoing juvenile investigation. Boulder Reporting Lab was unable to review the post to confirm its content.
On Friday, a second email announced that security officers would be present on campus the following Monday.
For many parents, the conflicting signals — officials calling the threat “not credible” while simultaneously increasing security — deepened concerns. Some debated whether to keep their children home. Others sought more information from the school and police, only to be met with silence.
“I received an email stating that due to an unspecified threat, Summit Middle School is going to have a ‘security presence’ this Monday,” one parent wrote in frustration on Reddit. “After several emails, I was finally able to extract that there is a ‘not credible’ threat for this Monday. I called the police and they refused to give me any information. This is beyond frustrating.”
Now, as the student responsible returns to school under a safety plan, the incident has reignited debate over BVSD’s handling of threats, how much transparency parents are entitled to, and whether consequences for such incidents should be more severe.
Fear and frustration
For parents, the fear is real, even when authorities determine a threat to be unfounded. School shootings are statistically rare, but in a country with widespread gun access and frequent mass shootings, the possibility feels ever-present. Threats, meanwhile, are increasingly frequent — up 60% from 2021 to 2022, according to the RAND Corporation. Most, like the Summit case, were made via social media.
Posting a threat to a school is a federal crime in some cases, but according to Boulder police, this one was classified as a misdemeanor.
“I get it, middle schoolers make mistakes,” said one parent, who asked to remain anonymous out of fear of retaliation against her child. “But there are some things you just don’t do.”
A past threat to a BVSD school prompted some parents to take security into their own hands. After a 2022 threat at Fairview High School led to an arrest, a few parents said they patrolled outside campus with concealed weapons — something the district strongly discourages, warning it could complicate security efforts.
How officials responded
The Summit threat first came to the school’s attention when a student reported the Snapchat post to administrators. Boulder police were notified, and an assessment was conducted to determine whether the student posed a danger.
Boulder Police spokesperson Dionne Waugh said threat assessments focus on whether someone has the means and opportunity to carry out a threat.
“In this incident, [officers] also spoke with the juvenile. After that investigation, they determined it was not a credible threat,” she said in an email.
In his brief email to parents, Summit Assistant Principal Joseph Gutierrez said that “matters of student discipline are handled with discretion to protect privacy.”
BVSD spokesperson Randy Barber said that if there had been a direct, credible threat, the district would have shared more details to protect students and staff. Determining whether a threat is credible, however, is the responsibility of the Boulder Police Department, not the district, he said.
BVSD cited privacy laws protecting minors as another reason for withholding details. Some parents, however, believe more could have been shared, and the vague emails only fueled speculation.
“When you don’t hear directly from the source, that’s when it creates divergences,” said another parent, who also didn’t want to be named.
What consequences should look like
A major concern for many parents was whether the student behind the threat would face serious disciplinary action.
According to Waugh, the student’s actions did constitute a crime.
“The juvenile was issued a referral for interference with school and staff, which is like the juvenile equivalent of a ticket,” she said.
Depending on which part of the statute the student is charged under, this can be classified as a petty crime or a class 1 or class 2 misdemeanor.
BVSD can also take its own disciplinary action. District policy allows schools to determine discipline based on individual circumstances rather than mandating specific punishments. While Colorado law permits expulsion for behavior that is “detrimental to the welfare or safety of other pupils,” it is generally used as a last resort.
In an email seen by Boulder Reporting Lab, Gutierrez informed parents the student would return under a “safety plan,” which in comparable cases has included bag checks and supervised recess.
For some parents, that response was inadequate.
They felt that, given today’s climate, any threat to a school should result in severe disciplinary action to prevent such incidents from becoming more common.
“The most helpful thing for me would be that the principal is going to expel this student. Or do the extent of Colorado law that is possible,” said one parent.
Others were frustrated that while Gutierrez emailed links to resources on talking to children about school safety, there were few on-campus resources for students dealing with anxiety about the incident. They also still didn’t know exactly what happened.
“How are we supposed to talk to our kids when we don’t know what we’re talking about?” she said.
BVSD has six high school wellness centers, funded by the nonprofit Impact on Education, where students can go to manage anxiety and cope with daily stress. Summit does not have one. Parents were directed to the school counselor if their child needed additional help.
BVSD maintains it handled the situation appropriately.
“It is natural for parents to have some concern following a possible threat to their school community,” said Barber. “BVSD and Summit Middle Charter School are committed to providing parents with as much information as possible, while recognizing that there are limitations in respect to any law enforcement investigation and the privacy of students.”
Anyone who sees a possible threat should contact their school principal, law enforcement or report it anonymously via Safe2Tell by calling 877-542-7233.
Clarification: An earlier version of this article implied that BVSD is responsible for determining the credibility of school-related threats. That determination is made by the Boulder Police Department, according to BVSD spokesperson Randy Barber. The district relies on law enforcement to assess the credibility of threats and responds based on those findings.