Caused by old social media post, no charges filed

Ohio University Southern cancelled its third day of fall classes on Tuesday after a threat was made on social media.

Around 11:15 a.m. on Tuesday, OUS notified students via Facebook that “Out of an abundance of caution, Ohio University Southern is closing for the day. All classes are cancelled until 8 a.m. tomorrow. This is due to a threatening social media post. The suspect has been taken into custody. Thanks to the Ironton PD for their quick action in apprehending this individual.”

It turns out the threat was an old meme and the student was not charged after talking with detectives.

The IPD released a statement saying that the information was forwarded to their agency by the Lawrence County Sheriff’s Office.

“Our investigation into said material showed that the posts were made over a year ago and were not a criminal violation,” said Detective Sgt. Jamie Pruitt. “We did interview the student, who was cooperative, and described the posts as ‘just memes.’ The student apologized for any alarm that the posts created and stated that they were from some time ago.”

Carly Leatherwood, senior director of communications services at Ohio University in Athens, said the school acted on advice of law enforcement. She said although the issue is resolved, they felt it was necessary to close the Ironton and Proctorville campuses for the day.

“We decide these on case-by-case basis,” she said. “We rely on our friends in law enforcement to provide us with their perspective. We want to protect our students. The issue has been resolved and classes will resume as normal.”

Pruitt said the Ironton Police Department works diligently on any and all alarming matters or complaints brought to their attention concerning schools or the college.