CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A threat made against George Washington High School principal George Aulenbacher Tuesday night on Facebook came from outside the state, but Charleston police said that doesn’t diminish its seriousness.
“It was a threat. It was vague. It wasn’t specific but it was still a credible threat as far as endangering the principal,” said Lt. Shawn Williams. “We have to take those very, very serious.”
Investigators said someone posted a threat to shoot Aulenbacher on a Facebook page that was created to support the principal.
There was a strong police presence at George Washington when school began Wednesday morning. “It was mainly for visibility and just a presence of police officers around. We don’t have the luxury of not taking it serious,” Williams said.
There has been controversy at the high school since Aulenbacher allowed a presentation by a special speaker on abstinence last week. A student has filed a lawsuit against him claiming her right to free speech was violated after she raised an objection.
Even though the post came from outside of West Virginia, Williams said the investigation will continue.
“We’ll keep working closely with Facebook to determine who that person was and what his motivation was to make that statement,” Williams said.