Extra police patrols will remain at Galesburg Junior/Senior High School through the week as authorities investigate “vague and ominous social media posts” that raised concern among parents and staff, GCUSD 205 Superintendent Dr. John Asplund said.

Asplund said district officials became aware of the posts over the past couple of days, just before classes resumed after the holiday break. He contacted the Galesburg Police Department for assistance in determining who created them.

“The statements on the postings are vague,” Asplund said. “They’re just ominous. They don’t even make sense, really. So, we’re trying to figure out what the intention was.”

One post included a statement that “something will happen when school starts,” he said. “That could be a good thing. That could be a bad thing. But I think the implication was it was supposed to be negative, but there’s nothing there that said anything negative. So, you know, there’s a lot of guessing that goes into the intent of that message.”

Asplund said the district did not believe the posts indicated an immediate threat.

“We feel very confident that it’s a very safe place to send your children. If we felt that there was an imminent threat, we would have probably canceled school,” he said.

“But we can’t cancel school every time somebody puts something online that’s a little different. We have to analyze each situation as it comes to us.”

Police officers were on campus Tuesday, and Asplund said additional patrols will continue through the rest of the week. The district’s school resource officer is currently unavailable, so other officers are assisting. Police are still working to identify the person or people responsible for the posts.

Asplund said the school day proceeded without incident, and he expects the rest of the week to be normal.

He noted that similar situations involving social media posts have occurred multiple times during his time as district superintendent.

“Nothing’s ever come of any of them,” he said. “But we have to look at each one and consider what the possibilities are.”

School administrators have received some calls from concerned parents, Asplund said, but he emphasized that student safety remains the district’s top priority.