Entire Welsh school sent home after ‘don’t come in’ gun threat on Snapchat

Over 1,000 pupils from a secondary school in Wales were sent home on Tuesday after an apparent gun threat was shared on social media.

The Snapchat post showed a picture of someone holding a gun with the message "Don't come to school tomorrow”, causing alarm to pupils and parents of St Julian’s School in Newport, Gwent.

Senior staff made the decision to shut the school as a "precautionary measure”, while parents were also informed to keep their children at home as police investigated.

Armed police were sent to the area “as a precaution” while the investigation was carried out, Gwent Police said.

A letter sent to parents from head teacher Dean Curtis said that police were “immediately contacted” once staff were told about the Snapchat post.

Curtis wrote: “We made the decision to close the school for the safety of our students and staff whilst the police investigated.

“At that point, we were unable to ascertain whether this was a credible threat to our school.”

Police told the head that they were “satisfied” that the post did not originate from pupils at St Julian’s and that it “is not a threat” to the school.

Confirming that the school will reopen today, Curtis added: “There have been a number of rumours on social media regarding our closure today.

“We can clarify that nobody was near or had entered the school with a weapon or that the police were searching the area or the school.

“The situation arose solely due to this image and comments on social media.”

Yahoo News UK has contacted Gwent Police for a comment.