A threat was made Tuesday evening against Durango High School, leading to an increased presence of police officers Thursday morning at the school.

In-person school is not in session Wednesdays.

Durango Police Department Cmdr. Jacob Dunlap and Durango School District 9-R spokeswoman Julie Popp called the threat “nonviable“ but released no specific details about the nature of it.

“We do not feel that the situation presents a danger to the community at this time,” Dunlap said.

Durango police officers have identified “people potentially associated” with the threat, and an investigation continues, and Dunlap said that was why he could not release details.

“About the most I can do is say, ‘9-R and Durango police detectives, school resource officers and others have been in regular communications as we work through this,” he said.

Popp said the threat has been determined to be not credible.

She added: “However, there was so much chatter among students, we felt it was important to inform the community that we had received that threat, and to let them know how it had been resolved in coordination with the Durango Police Department.”

Popp said the threat had no impact on school operations, and students’, teachers’ and staff members’ schedules were not affected by it.

The threat came Tuesday evening after school had let out.

DHS conducts a deep cleanings as part of the district’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic each Wednesday when no students are attending classes in the building.

On Thursday, an increased presence of law officers was in place at the school to assure students and staff members they were safe, Popp said.

“Safety and security of students is always a priority. We take any kind of threat very seriously,” Popp said. “Immediately, we'll engage with local law enforcement and institute our internal security measures to address those concerns and resolve them as quickly as we can. We work closely with police, and we will continue to coordinate with them as this investigation is ongoing.”

DHS Principal Jon Hoerl also sent an email letter to families with DHS students alerting them to “a potential school threat.”

The letter said: “The safety and security of our staff and students is a top priority, and school administration contacted local authorities as well as instituted internal safety measures to further investigate the situation. Law enforcement and mental health experts were contacted immediately and are actively engaged in this ongoing investigation.”

parmijo@durangoherald.com