No injuries, two suspects in custody after threat is resolved at Ravenna High School

Two juvenile students are in custody after Ravenna High School went into lockdown Friday morning after one student sent a threatening Snapchat message. No weapons were involved, and no one was injured, said school Superintendent Dennis Honkala.

“We wanted to err on the side of caution,” he said in a press conference. “Nothing was found, nobody was found, there was never any threat and nobody was harmed.”

Thursday night, another Ravenna student saw the message and reported it to the school resource officer and an administrator. 

According to Ravenna police, the message indicated the student planned on bringing a firearm into the school to cause harm.

The Ravenna High School student who sent the Snapchat was taken to the office. A second student from another school, who Honkala referred to as a “trespasser,” was found with the Ravenna student in a restroom inside the school.

In a press release, Ravenna police said a brief struggle ensued between the Ravenna student and the school resource officer. It is unclear what the struggle consisted of. The student was then placed into custody, while the non-Ravenna student fled on foot before he was caught a short time later.

The school decided to put the building on lockdown as a precaution and Ravenna police swept the building for other unauthorized visitors.

The Portage County Sheriff’s office, State Highway Patrol, Kent State and University of Akron police and the Drug Enforcement Administration also responded and were on scene.

“As some of you may be aware, this morning there was a situation that required us to lean on our training and conduct a lockdown for students and staff,” Honkala said in a Facebook post addressed to parents around 10 a.m.

A heavy police presence at the high school was reported after 8 a.m. Around 11 a.m., the lockdown was removed and parents were allowed to pick up their children. 

Ravenna police said the investigation is still active.

Laina Yost is the enterprise editor. Contact her at [email protected].

Henry Palattella is the editor. Contact him at [email protected].

Editor’s note: This story has been updated throughout the day as information became available. The original version contained reports from police that four suspects were involved; that number was revised. It was also unclear in earlier reports if any weapons were found.