Mission PD pushes school safety PSA after false bomb threats at IDEA, MCISD

The Mission Police Department is calling on parents to inform their children about false bomb threats as the new school year begins.

Mission Police Department Assistant Chief, Teodoro ‘Ted’ Rodríguez, addresses the press during a press conference at the Mission Economic Development Center Thursday. Photo courtesy of the City of Mission.Last Thursday morning, Mission PD partnered with federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Texas Department of Public Safety, to explain the dangers of false threats and the spread of misinformation via social media during a press conference at the Mission Economic Development Center.

This warning comes days after Mission PD confirmed that two school threats have already been made, with one student in custody, and another being processed.

“A juvenile was taken into custody at one of our schools,” Mission Detective and Public Information Officer Jorge Rodríguez Jr. said. Mission PD confirmed that the threats happened within Mission Consolidated School District and IDEA schools. “The year barely started and we already had one incident.”

These are the first threat cases after school began across western Hidalgo County last week.

These incidents prompted law enforcement agencies to take a call to action to prevent false alarms or incidents — and to get parents involved.

“It’s to ensure the safety of every student and staff member at any school district here within the city of Mission and, actually, throughout the whole Valley,” Mission PD Assistant Chief, Teodoro ‘Ted’ Rodríguez said.

The Assistant Chief of Police urges parents to monitor official news sources and avoid spreading misinformation during times of concern.

Parents can mitigate the spread of anxiety by reporting social media posts or text messages to authorities.

It’s no secret that in a digital age, news spreads like wildfire. But fear can be tough to put out when mothers, fathers, and parents share information on threats interchangeably without consulting the police.

 

“If a parent comes across one of these messages [asks] not to send it to another parent,” Officer Jorge Rodríguez Jr. said. “Contact the school authorities or contact law enforcement.”

He continued.

“Let us handle it.”

Mission PD also urges parents to talk to their children about the consequences of threats, pranks or not.

Threats like these do not go without consequence, as students can face anywhere between a Class B misdemeanor to a third-degree felony.

“You’re talking about being incarcerated, you’re talking about having to pay attorney fees,” Assistant Chief Rodríguez said. “Just the fact that going to jail or having to spend ten, twenty thousand dollars to defend yourself in a criminal case is, should be reason enough…for our parents to convey that clear message to their students, to their children.”

He also advises students to use sound judgment before making a statement involving violence.

“It is important for you to use good judgment,” warns the assistant chief. “We are not going to take this lightly. We are not going to take it as a prank, we’re not going to take it as a joke.”

He continued.

“It places people in danger.”

That and police resources are wasted under ‘pranks’ of this kind.

“We’re going to deploy all of our resources,” said the assistant chief of police.

According to the assistant chief of police, a bomb squad can take up to 4 to 5 hours to clear a building of weapons, which wastes time and energy for regular patrols.

“It causes resources to be used,” he said.

Other resource limitations can include minimal focus on patrol operations and other emergency events, which can risk and endanger the lives of others.

“There’s still other types of law enforcement activities that are being placed on hold for something that wasn’t real,” he said. “Our resources are depleted from responding to real issues.”

The intensity of bomb or shooting threats can also impact students emotionally and educationally.

“We see it now more frequently — it does cause — it does impact youth,” the assistant chief said. “We’ve seen it when we have lockdowns where children actually have anxiety issues when…law enforcement is clearing out the building.”

Mission Consolidated School District Interim Superintendent, Cris Valdez, is concerned with curriculum interruption at the expense of violent threats.

Due to this, Valdez said that MCISD is working to foster a safe learning environment for its students and staff.

“We won’t tolerate any online threats, any threats to our schools. It’s serious,” she said. “We want to foster a culture of safety but it takes all of us.”

She continued.

“It’s not only the duty and responsibility of all those who stand behind me and who are in this room — but it takes all of us. It takes the community, it takes the parents, it takes the students, it takes the faculty and staff.”