Shooting rumors at Green Valley High prompt 900 students to stay home

About one-third of the students at Green Valley High School got a head start on their Memorial Day weekend after a rumor circulated that someone might attempt a shooting on campus.

Principal Jeff Horn said despite Thursday's rumors, Friday was one of the "quietest days of the year" at the Henderson school, mostly because about 900 students stayed home.

Horn said the empty hallways epitomized how school shootings and large-scale acts of violence are ingrained in the public's consciousness.

"Virginia Tech is fresh in everybody's minds," Horn said of the tragedy at Blacksburg, Va., in which a student shot and killed 32 people and himself in April.

"Parents were very jumpy and concerned. In the world we live in today, rumors spread and not only affect schools, but businesses and government offices," he said.

About 18 students were interviewed about the origins of the rumors, but school and Clark County School District police officials were unable to substantiate any of them, Horn said.

As a precautionary measure, district police and Henderson police patrolled the campus Friday more frequently than normal.