On October 4, 2023, panic spread across Washburn Rural High School from not only students, but parents as well. There were rumors being spread around the school on the social media platform Snapchat, that someone was threatening to “shoot up the school”. About midday, students started leaving or getting called out by parents. Many students were gone by 2 p.m. 

The next day, increased security and extra police officers were posted around campus to provide extra comfort. During this event, parents were on edge. They were posting about how upset they were about this threat on Facebook and expressing major concerns. Campus portal sent out multiple different emails reassuring parents that every student in the school was safe.

After Thursday, Mr. Raines, (the head principal) sent out another email, this time to the students. He clarified everything that was going on and was excusing anyone who was absent on Thursday, as the circumstances were very scary.