School threats take toll not only on students and teachers but entire community

One after another Wednesday, schools in Colorado went on lockdown after threats were phoned into a variety of jurisdictions from Brush in northeast Colorado to Durango in the southwest. Not one was substantiated. 

More than one law enforcement agency reported a phone call about shots fired and the sound of shots. But at no school was gunfire verified. Some agencies are investigating it as potential swatting, a term for creating a false report that sends police to swarm over a location to search for a legitimate threat when there is none.

The FBI released a statement Wednesday night, "If the FBI concludes that the evidence supports filing a federal criminal case, that will be forwarded to the US Attorney's Office, which makes that determination."

But there was no indication of an arrest or arrests.

Concerned students took cover and followed rules for taking cover. Police went to school after school and went through searching for threats while students remained in classrooms where protocols often call for quiet and lights off. 

"I had an anxiety attack in the middle and I couldn't stop coughing," said sophomore Taylor Knox, a student at Littleton High School.

"I was honestly so scared and my friends started crying and I felt really bad and I started shaking too," said Heidi Garcia Roja Chavez, also a student at Littleton.

Parents and relatives flocked to schools in spite of requests to stay clear. 

"Just makes you upset, scared, worried," said Frank Hanneman, who arrived at Littleton, concerned about his granddaughter. 

"It's terrifying, I'm sure he's terrified," said Jordan Wingate as she waited outside for her nephew to be cleared to leave.

The reality of school shootings and threats of more, create stress on students as one mother explained, "It's terrifying for our kids. It creates a war zone mentality for them. But they can't get away from it. I mean they really think it's inevitable that they think they're going to be in a shooting." 

Her son who attends Littleton Public Schools which had already been through one school shooting at the STEM School Highlands Ranch.

"They do feel helpless. I feel helpless as an adult I cannot imagine as a kid feeling helpless," said Heather Aberg, a therapist who co-founded Resilience 1220, a non-profit that offers counseling for young people 12-20 in the foothills area. 

School shooting threats she said are blending with the stresses already faced by young people, introduced in a constant feed on their phones. 

"Young people are now in a state of hypervigilance. They are constantly aware and biologically that raises their cortisol levels."

While those levels are helpful at times of stress, the more frequent release of cortisol can make it harder to sleep and learn. She is seeing children who fear going to school. 

"They won't leave home, there's too much anxiety. There are a lot of kids who are homebound. It's raising self-harm OCD and addictions, diagnosable depression and anxiety and suicidality." 

Children who are experiencing hypervigilance are grasping for control she said, "More rigid and we're seeing more explosive behavior."

The toll from the threats is harder to measure when there are no physical injuries, but students faced with another day of school on Thursday were likely going to be thinking about what happened the day before. 

"And it's hard to come back to school knowing that's a real thing and that could happen. Like that could happen any day," said Tylor Knox.