Girls expelled over prank threats

Moses Lake police say there was no danger

MOSES LAKE - Two female students at Chief Moses Middle School were expelled from school Friday after admitting to writing threatening notes to each other using the word "shoot."

The notes ended up being a prank, said Moses Lake Police Capt. Dave Ruffin.

But a rumor grew from the notes that "threatened violence" would happen today at the middle school, according to a letter sent home to parents written by the school's Principal Mark Johnson. The word "shoot" was used in the notes.

A joint investigation was conducted by the school and a police officer assigned to the school, Ruffin said.

Their efforts revealed an 11-year-old girl and a 12-year-old girl decided they would write the notes to each other, placing the notes in their lockers, said Moses Lake School District Assistant to the Superintendent P.J. De Benedetti.

The girls turned the notes into school security as if they had found them, he said.

"They admitted it was basically a prank," Ruffin said of the students. "We're convinced in our investigation that everything's fine."

The students were emergency expelled, which is a temporary measure that can be changed by the school principal, superintendent Steve Chestnut said.

The students can either be expelled permanently or suspended on a long-term or short-term basis, Johnson added. It hasn't been decided what further disciplinary action will be taken.

The students weren't thinking about the possible consequences of their actions, he said.

After letters were sent to the students' homes, parents called the school and the newspaper to ask if it was safe to send their children to school. School officials and police both said there was no danger to students.

"There never was a real threat to anyone," De Benedetti said.