Robert Moody
Robbinsville – Though officers and staff alike determined in about a 30-minute window that a widespread social media post held no merit locally, Graham County Schools still erred on the side of safety in a bizarre start to the school day.
Around 7:30 a.m. Friday, Superintendent Robert Moody was notified by the Graham County Sheriff’s Office about the post, which indicated that several schools were in danger of an incident similar to the Sept. 4 tragedy in Winder, Ga., in which a 14-year-old student opened fire inside Apalachee High School and killed four people – two students and two teachers.
Listed among four other schools was “Graham,” which caught the eye of local authorities and school personnel.
But Moody said a quick examination of the other institutions listed – Broadview, Haw Fields, Turrentine and Woodlawn – showed the idea was for schools around the Burlington/Raleigh area. The Town of Graham is in Alamance County – more than 4 ½ hours east of Graham County. Moody said Graham County Schools sent an email and phone message to students and parents alike just after 8 a.m., to make everyone aware of what was going on. While local authorities investigated the validity of the post, Moody told all bus drivers to hold students on the bus until receiving further instruction.
“I wanted to have full transparency,” Moody said. “If I thought Graham County was involved, no kids would have stepped foot on campus.”
Moody explained that the district had just opened its doors for morning arrivals when he was made aware of the post. Since the Sept. 4 shooting, an unfortunate amount of posts have popped up – ranging from schools in north Georgia to nine different institutions across western North Carolina.
Thankfully, none of the posts carried any weight.
Often, posts such as the one Sept. 12 are shared – yet not reported to school officials or officers.
“By the time we’re made aware, it’s been reshared so much that we have a hard time tracing its origin,” Moody said.
Students across the district were allowed to leave school early Friday as an excused absence.
“Family always comes first for me, so I completely understood if parents or the students felt uncomfortable,” Moody said. “I didn’t hear much backlash, but everybody has the right answers until they have to make a decision – and I’ll stand by it.”