By Joe Angelino

A new school year is upon us and already there’s been violence reported. Last week there was yet another student-on-student fatal shooting in a public high school, this time in Spokane, Washington. Without trying to sound insensitive, the Spokane incident involved only one killed and three wounded. This may not even make the FBI’s list of school active shooter incidents and it is being dealt with by local authorities as a simple crime of murder.

Coincidently the same day closer to home, the Sidney High School and police department were dealing with a non-specific threat of violence by gunfire that turned out to be false. The Sidney type incident plays out with near daily regularity all over the United States thanks to social media spreading rumors like wildfire. Adding to the authenticity of social media gossip is the police investigation itself. When the police show up, the most far-flung rumor now has added credibility of a law enforcement scrutiny.