Threat Of Violence In Laurel Highlands School District Still Under Investigation

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LAUREL HIGHLANDS (KDKA) -- The threat may be over for students at Uniontown High School, but an unrelated threat of violence to students in the nearby Laurel Highlands School District is still under investigation.

State Police may have a person of interest in the case. As a result, classes at the high school have been cancelled Monday in favor of a Teacher In-Service Day.

"It gives us an opportunity to increase the investigation, and it gives us an opportunity to put some distance between the [Uniontown] event that's not related to ours and our event that we're having right now," Laurel Highlands Superintendent Dr. Jesse Wallace said.

RELATED: Uniontown H.S. School Shooting Thwarted, Student Found With Arsenal Of Weapons

The district also plans to beef up security with a stronger presence by state police.

"The state police have agreed to have an increased presence outside our buildings, inside our buildings and that will continue until we feel like we know that either this person is the one that's responsible for the threat or it's not," Wallace said.

While she commends the district's effort to improve safety, parent Natalie Crouse is offering another solution to what she calls a national epidemic.

"I believe the time's come for armed security guards. I don't personally own a gun. I don't know how to operate a gun, but I feel that we need to prepare," Crouse said.

The superintendent says the district is taking the threat seriously and will take the necessary measures to protect and educate the children.

Wallace praises the Uniontown student and parent who told police about another student's threat to shoot several students at school.

"The biggest deterrent that we have is that if you see something, say something to us. The students are responsible for letting us know what's going on. When you sit silent, that's when bad things happen," Wallace said.