December 9, 2021 By Carol Britton Meyer
Hingham Police officers arrived at the Hingham Middle School at approximately 7:30 a.m. today, Dec. 9, following a report of a social media group chat between several HMS students that "made reference to a past shooting threat," according to a HPD News Flash.
Working in cooperation with the school administration, the student involved with the Snapchat post was located, and it was quickly determined that there was no current danger at the school.
HMS has a full-time School Resource Officer who works closely with the school administration to help provide a safe learning environment.
The incident remains under investigation, and there are no charges at this time. The Hingham Police will continue to have an increased presence at the Hingham Public Schools today.
HMS Principal Derek Smith and Interim Supt. of Schools Gary Maestas both reached out to the HPS school community to alert parents and caregivers of the situation.
"This morning we were notified that a dialogue took place on a social media app last night between several middle school students," Smith explained in his email. "In that dialogue, one of the students commented about a past experience regarding their comments being misunderstood for shooting up a school."
As a result, this information was brought to the attention of the HPD as well as HMS administrators "and is being thoroughly investigated," the email states. "The Hingham Police Department as well as administration do not believe that this is a credible threat. Although this has been determined to not be a safety concern, the HPD, along with the Hingham Middle School, has committed to additional police presence at this time. Thank you for working together to keep Hingham Middle School safe."
Maestas' email shared similar information.