Dear Penfield Families,

I want to address rumors and inaccurate information regarding Penfield High School
that were shared on Facebook today and forwarded to school officials. A screenshot of a
Snapchat photo was posted on a Facebook page, indicating that a gun was at school
today and that threats were made. This is simply not true. There was NO weapon in
school today and there were NO known verbal or written threats made
against the school.

The facts of the situation are as follows:

A student brought a Snapchat photo of what appeared to be a weapon to the attention of

PHS administrators this morning. Members of the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office were
at school in support of the social media trend reported yesterday and were immediately
brought into the conversation. Upon investigating today’s concern, the MCSO
determined that the photo was actually of an air soft gun and that it had been sent by
one student to another this past summer and the photo has now resurfaced. Upon a
thorough investigation, which included interviews with the student and the student’s
parents, a search of the student’s home with the parents’ permission which revealed
there were no weapons in the home, as well as utilization of the Monroe County FIT
Team and Monroe Crime Analysis Center, MCSO determined there was no credible
threat. Working in partnership with the school district, MCSO will continue to monitor
the situation and continue to have a presence at the school.

We want to assure you that we take these issues very seriously and the student who
shared the original post has been disciplined in accordance with our Code of Conduct.

We understand that parents are concerned, especially in light of the social media trend
we alerted you to yesterday, but we ask for your patience and understanding as we
investigate reports. We also ask that you come to us with questions and concerns, so
that we can address them quickly and accurately.

Thank you for your understanding and for continuing to have ongoing conversation with
your students about appropriate use of social media.

Thomas K. Putnam, Ed.D.

Superintendent of Schools