EDITORIAL — They cause trouble too

Just a few days ago we warned that the school shooting incident in Tacloban may spark a series of shooting threats, the same way people call in bomb threats for whatever reason they see fit.

Just a few days later, two such incidents have been recorded, both happening last Thursday. One happened at the Francisco P. Felix Memorial National High School in Cainta, Rizal. The other happened at the Cebu Eastern College (CEC) in Cebu City.

In the Cainta high school, police said around 1:30 P.M. someone using a dummy social media account posted threats about shooting some students. Police came and verified there was no danger.

In CEC, the initial report was that a bomb had been placed somewhere in the school, but the threat was also later found to be a warning that someone was going to shoot students.

Police coordinated with the Explosive Ordnance Disposal Team, the Special Weapons and Tactics unit, the Traffic Management Response Unit, the Cebu City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office, the Barangay Pahina Central Barangay Public Safety Officers, and school authorities to inspect the campus.

No threat was found.

Herein lies the rub; because of what happened in Tacloban, we cannot afford to take such threats for granted. Even if such threats sound fake, even if such threats sound unbelievable.

Of course, to not take such threats for granted means fielding personnel from various police and civilian units to verify if a threat is true. And that means spending time, money, and other resources, in what may ultimately end up being a wild goose chase.

Again, we have to ask what kind of people make such threats? Those who somehow get a sick and twisted kick at how they can get people to react, panic, and dance to their tune?

And for what reason do they make such threats? Do they want to disrupt school operations? Do they want to cause mass panic? Or do they simply just want to avoid work for a while?

Those who only threaten to shoot others might think they aren’t causing trouble, but the distress, panic, and disruption they cause may be just as bad as an actual attack. They cause trouble too.