An image of an object resembling a firearm on a Wilson student’s Snapchat story circulated on social media early Monday evening, sparking fear of a potential shooting at Wilson and prompting a police search of the involved students’ homes. The search revealed no evidence of a threat to the school, but police presence at Wilson was tripled Tuesday as an extra measure of safety.

Principal Martin alerted the police after receiving messages from parents and students about the post. While the original photo of the apparent gun did not have a caption, a second student re-posted the photo with a caption the administration perceived as threatening. Martin only saw the second version of the post, leading her to believe that the student who was in possession of the apparent gun was also the student who made the threatening comment. This confusion was clarified by the police investigation, but disquiet among parents and students continued to build as the image was re-posted into Tuesday morning.

Martin dispelled community concern in an email to parents and students early Tuesday morning. Despite her efforts, Martin said that she continued to receive frantic emails from parents and students until mid-morning Tuesday. “People just being tense and being afraid all the time is kind of where we are as a country right now,” she said.

This is the third incident of a violent threat to Wilson this year, though Martin said that in her experience, students generally don’t mean any real harm. “Sadly, kids are often astonished when the consequences get really real, when there’s real police officers sitting there in their house saying ‘Why did you do that?’”

Martin explained that pending further investigation, the students involved will be disciplined in accordance with the DC Municipal Regulations suspension guidelines.