Numerous public schools in Edina and the community center were closed for all of Wednesday in response to what the district superintendent said were voice mail messages that posed a potential safety threat.
Officials: Two girls, ages 10 and 11, behind 'concerning messages' that closed Edina schools
Last week, a teenager was arrested on allegations that he had a gun outside Edina High School and uttered a threat.
September 20, 2023 at 10:17PM
A follow-up message Wednesday afternoon from Superintendent Stacie Stanley and Edina police said two girls were identified by police as responsible for the calls, and the schools will return to their normal schedules Thursday.
An automated districtwide phone alert from Stanley went out about 8:55 a.m. Wednesday notifying staff and student families about "two concerning messages" left earlier in the morning on the voice mail of Normandale Elementary School, located just east of Hwy. 100 and north of Hwy. 62.
Stanley's update said police in Edina and Bloomington were "able to identify one 10-year-old girl and one 11-year-old girl in connection to the voicemail statements."
Edina police added that the girls, whose identities were not disclosed, "have been released to their parents, and the case will be presented to the Hennepin County Attorney's Office" for any possible prosecution.
The superintendent said the girls are not current or former students in Edina, "and police have assured us that there is no threat to our schools."
Classes were called off for Wednesday at Normandale, and neighboring South View Middle School and Concord Elementary School. Also closed was the nearby Edina Community Center, which houses Spanish Dual Language Immersion School instruction and the Early Learning Center.
Stanley said classes will resume Thursday in all the affected buildings, and Wednesday's after-school activities were unaffected.
Police spokeswoman Lauren Siebenaler declined to share with the Star Tribune any further information about the nature of the threats other than to say that "patrol officers are making an effort to increase their presence at the schools."
This situation follows the arrest and charging of a 17-year-old from Minneapolis who is accused of posting online a video of himself displaying a gun last Thursday night outside Edina High School and making a vulgar threat. That incident prompted the high school and adjoining Valley View Middle School to shift to online-only instruction Friday.
Another police spokeswoman, Jennifer Bennerotte, said Wednesday's messages and the gun incident are not related.
State Rep. Heather Edelson, a DFLer who represents Edina, wrote on Facebook that "I am as concerned and upset as each and every one of you are about the threats that have happened in the past two weeks against Edina Public Schools. I am waiting to hear more about details on what the police find from the threats made today as well as the district — and will update once I learn more. ... All kids deserve to be safe at school."
“This was certainly not an outcome that we were hoping would materialize, and we know that today’s path forward does not provide a perfect solution,” interim OCM director Charlene Briner said Wednesday.
