Goose Creek CISD schools targeted in anonymous threat online

BAYTOWN, TX (KTRK) -- Hundreds of students were pulled out of class Thursday after several threats were made against schools in Goose Creek CISD.

Officials in Goose Creek CISD said they didn't believe the threat affecting several Baytown schools were credible.

An anonymous threat was posted on Instagram overnight which targeted a number of campuses.

District officials say police were called and seven campuses have been searched and cleared of any threat, including Goose Creek Memorial High School, Robert E Lee High School, Sterling High School, Baytown Junior School, Gentry Junior School, Cedar Bayou Junior School, and Highlands Junior School.

"The safety and security of our campuses is always our top priority and we will not take threats of this nature lightly, although we do not believe the threat to be credible," says Beth Dombrowa, Goose Creek CISD Director of Communications.

"We are working closely with law enforcement to identify the source of the post and will provide our full support to ensure the person responsible for the post is punished to the full extent of the law."

Earlier, officials released this statement to Eyewitness News:

"We evacuated, our of an abundance of caution, our high schools and junior schools. Students were taken to different locations, either by bus or on foot, if the evacuation point was close by. We felt strongly that this was a hoax, but the safety and security of our students is our top priority so the decision was made to evacuate the campuses. The evacuations are complete and the students are safely back at school.

Throughout the day many parents made the decisions to withdraw their kids from school. It is terribly disappointing and frustrating that one individual could needlessly instill fear in our community and create such havoc. We are working diligently with authorities to identify the individual who made a threat against our students and staff -- even if it was just a prank."

Parents were alerted by phone this morning about the threat posted to social media.

There is no word yet on any suspect or suspects involved in the threat.