So glad Wednesday's over

We brought our kid home from school this morning because someone posted a couple of threats on instagram about bringing a rifle to her school and shooting the place up. The police were investigating; the school decided against a lockdown but told the kids that they were excused to leave if they wanted. So a lot of the kids left.

Our kid texted us to ask what to do, and we told her that it was her decision - and she decided to be picked up to come home. Some of her friends stayed; others went home. Some who stayed said that going home was giving in to the BS of crazy people, and the girls ended up having a very heated discussion on group chat. Our kid was distressed enough to step away from the chat - she didn't like being judged for her decision. It's hard being 15 sometimes.

And I guess it's a lot harder for some than others. We found out after the kid's soccer game tonight that a 15 year old female student has been arrested, and has admitted to posting the threats. She hasn't been charged yet - it will be interesting to see how that develops. If she's charged as a juvenile, her name will probably not be officially released. I hope the school expels her, but that may not prevent her from making future threats.

I told the kid that when there isn't enough information to know for certain what's going on, then each person needs to make the decision that she is most comfortable with. And that's why we let her decide - she needed to judge if she felt safe enough to stay at school. And then I told her: it's true that the majority of these threats are empty. But it seems every time a real school shooting happens, someone at the scene says: I didn't think it could happen here. So ... if there is even a small chance of something happening, I would rather she act on the side of caution than take her chances. Because I am selfish, and she is precious to me. And then I gave her extra hugs.