Lockhart K-8 School Secured After Anonymous, ‘Cryptic’ Social Media Post

Lockhart K-8 School resumed normal operations Thursday following a thorough search conducted in response to a vague but concerning Facebook post that appeared anonymously in a public Facebook forum late Wednesday night.

The post, which included only the school’s name, along with a date, time, and two emojis, raised immediate concern among parents, who alerted Education officials. Some, commenting on social media, questioned the possible connection to a student altercation that occurred on campus the day before.

Early Thursday morning, before students arrived, school officials and the Virgin Islands Police Department implemented a range of security protocols, including bag checks for all students and staff and a detailed sweep of the campus by the VIPD. Several knives were confiscated during these checks, though no further threats were found.

“We took some precautionary measures, putting more resources into the school,” said St. Thomas-St. John Police Chief Steven Phillip. “We had K9 explosive and gun dogs on campus, conducting checks to ensure the area was safe, and we kept additional officers in the school to work alongside the monitors.”