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School security beefed up after threat Unlike many school notes sent home with students, this one stood out. On Friday, parents of Howard Elementary School students received a letter detailing security measures school and police officials had in place for Monday. The action was in response to a message found written on school grounds alluding to a potential "shoot-out" on Monday. "Exterior doors of all buildings will be kept locked, and students will be kept inside for recess," Principal Sharon Charles wrote in the letter. "Arrangements have been made to have law enforcement officers on campus during the day." According to Medford Police Lt. Tim George, the precautions were taken after an unknown person wrote the message on a window. The message, which contained misspellings, was written in skateboarding wax. The vandal�s message included the taunt, "you�ll never find out who I am," and also included foul language. Police believe they have a suspect � a minor who has no plans to carry out the threat of violence, George said, "We don�t believe anything is going to happen at all but we�re taking precautions," George said. "We have this well in hand. We know who�s responsible and we�re going to take action." Randy Johnson, whose daughter attends Howard, was upset school officials didn�t schedule a meeting to discuss their plans with parents. "As a parent, I�m ticked off. My daughter was crying, wrapped around me in tears, afraid to go back to school," Johnson said. "I want my daughter to be protected." George said in addition to school resource officers, patrol officers will be brought in for the day. In her letter, Charles informed parents that students who leave the campus will be accompanied by an adult, and she will personally circulate through all classrooms during the day. "It is unfortunate that incidents such as this occur in today�s society," Charles added. Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.