Two Ironton police officers patrolled the halls of Ironton’s middle and high schools today as police officials began investigating a possible "hit list" found at Ironton High School.

Wednesday, April 04, 2001

Two Ironton police officers patrolled the halls of Ironton’s middle and high schools today as police officials began investigating a possible "hit list" found at Ironton High School.

School principal Larry Stall said a handwritten note was found in the hallway of the school Tuesday morning. The note was titled "Top Ten Hit List," and named 10 students at the high school and middle school.

Police said there was no other information given in the text of the note. The names of students listed in the note were not released by the police or school.

Stall noted the students named on the list varied in grade and were not all associated with similar groups.

Stall said the originator of the list is still unknown and police and school officials are continuing the investigation.

One parent of a student who attends Ironton schools called the newspaper this morning.

She said that her son came home and told her that a "hit list" had been found at the high school.

Out of concern for her son’s safety, she called high school officials who confirmed the existence of the list.

She decided to keep her son out of school today.

School officials confirmed that only two of the 10 students named on the list were absent from school today. School officials said they did not advise the students to miss school. It is speculated the parents kept the students from school because of safety concerns.

Acting police chief Chris Bowman said police have identified suspects and are following up on leads.

He said police officers were assigned to the school for security purposes.