ALLEGHENY COUNTY, Pa. — A Woodland Hills School District faculty member caught a glimpse of a video on a student’s phone that led to an investigation and ended up keeping two sixth-graders home from school.
“The video depicted some juveniles waving around what appeared to be firearms,” Woodland Hills Safety and Security Officer Pedro Valles said.
According to Valles, the video was edited together and showed several kids, but two were believed to be Dickson sixth-graders.
“Some people may call it an overabundance of precaution but anything I see as a threat or possible threat which at the time I did so we go into what’s the safest way to protect our kids,” Valles said.
Valles said he went to the homes of both those students Wednesday night to start the investigation. While the video was not filmed on school grounds and there was no threat to the school, both students are learning remotely until the investigation is complete.
“We had people checking bags more tighter today, the individuals weren’t allowed to come to the district but we did go there to make sure everything was good there and they were in a good mental space and try to get some intel on what happened and how they appeared in the video,” Valles said.
Valles wants to make it clear that this is why the district makes it a priority to know their students after the bell rings as social media becomes more prevalent younger and younger.
“A lot of times you get these kids in a corner, and they are totally different. In front of a camera, screen, Snapchat they get a little more engaged than they should be,” Valles said.
Police are still trying to figure out where exactly the video was filmed as that will be the lead department in the investigation.
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