Diego Portales High School on High Alert: Authorities Crack Down on Emerging Threats

In the face of recent threats that put the safety of the school community at the Liceo Bicentenario Diego Portales de Rancagua in danger, local and regional authorities met to discuss emergency security measures.

Device hacking allowed third parties to issue threatening messages that disrupted the school’s normal operation, forcing classes to be suspended on Monday, September 23 as a preventative measure.

That is why the mayor of Rancagua, Emerson Avendaño, came; the Presidential Representative, Fabio López; Education Seremi, Alyson Hadad, as well as other actors met to address the fragile situation that occurred, a case where contingency measures were discussed to prevent future risks, and the commitment of Rancagua Municipality and Education Seremi to guarantee that institutions educational spaces are safe places for everyone.

“Alleged Shooting Was PUBLISHED”

The mayor of Rancagua, Emerson Avendaño, declared that suspending classes was a decision coordinated with the school’s management to protect the integrity of the students and staff, and indicated that the relevant security protocols had been implemented.

“Over the weekend we learned about a complaint in an alleged shooting that was being advertised in this establishment. From the first moment we received information, the Secretary General of the Corporation made the decision together with the director of the institution to suspend classes for preventive security measures,” said the mayor of Rancagüino.

He explained that “The matter was examined in detail and it seems that it could be a type of hack, that there would be no more risk than what was published; However, because of that and the complex times we live in, we use the preventive measures we consider appropriate for the school community.”

Because of these events the councilor said “we have reported it to the whole Police, to the Prosecutor’s Office, as soon as we were informed of this situation, we activated all the corresponding protocols and we hope that detailed information for this. An investigation will be conducted by our Corporation and as the Prosecutor’s Office to conduct an investigation into this type of hack which clearly makes it difficult and causes fear in a community that has not experienced this.”

Avendaño concluded by saying “We trusted the secretary and director of the Directorate of Education to support and accompany all the people affected by this situation. We cannot allow our students to be victims of any situation that could harm them, which is the mandate we have given of support, protection, understanding, in the face of situations that can sometimes be too scary, but that at an institutional level . some decisions are made, but at student level we have to go with them,” he concluded.

“IT WAS DETERMINED THAT THIS WAS NOT A REAL THREAT”

For her part, the Secretary of Education, Alyson Hadad, emphasized the importance of acting quickly to guarantee safety in schools: “In this case, for all intents and purposes, it was already decided that it was not a real threat, but in the work Beth we call it as a Government and as a Minister to provide all the security conditions for educational institutions, to be able to provide that security, that trust to families and to all members of the educational community.”

He added: “The police investigation has been carried out, every measure has been taken and today we are in collaborative work, because the educational community needs to move forward with its educational process and be able to provide that concrete security and the definitive information for the family.”.

The Education Seremi explained “it is collaborative work that is done with the Under Secretary for Crime Prevention and in this way we have faced other situations that have existed in Rancagua and in other communities, because that is the way we can establish all the initiatives corresponding to victim support and to establish coordination with the police. It is preventive and reactive work in situations like the ones we are experiencing today,” said Hadad.

The case continues to be investigated by the Public Ministry, and the Municipality and the education authorities reaffirmed their commitment to ensure that the community’s educational institutions are safe places for everyone.