Staff at a West Lothian secondary school had to call police following “significant abuse and intimidation” by trolls – some as far as 300 miles away – in the days after the tragic death of a 14-year-old pupil.
Following the death of Hamdan Aslam at St Kentigern’s Academy, in Blackburn, the Local Democracy Reporting Service has learned that officers from Police Scotland had to attend after a deluge of threats to the school whilst the investigation was ongoing.
It is believed these threats were sparked by inaccurate speculation that Hamdan’s death may have been the result of bullying or a social media challenge gone wrong.
A spokesperson for the council said that, in addition to their investigation, officers also offered “security and support to staff, following the significant level of abuse and hostility aimed at the school community”.
“School staff experienced significant volumes of online abuse, telephone calls and physical intimidation.
“Some of this abuse came from individuals with no link to the school and living more than 300 miles away,” the spokesperson added.
A post-mortem examination revealed last Thursday that the teenager had an undiagnosed heart condition, and his death could have occurred at any time.
Appealing the following day for an end to the social media fury, his parents described their son’s death as “God’s will”.
Siobhan McGarty, West Lothian Council’s Head of Education, said: “I think most people are familiar with the amount of inflammatory information and commentary online. Much of this fails to seek the truth and provide balance and accuracy.
“Sadly, false, misleading and harmful content can spread fast on social media and that was what happened in this case. It was incredibly sad, upsetting and completely avoidable, but we can’t control what others choose to put onto their social media.
“Accredited media outlets and traditional press then report on the online coverage, which is rumour and misleading.
“It is also the case that when there is an active police investigation, we are extremely limited in what we can say to parents and pupils in terms of providing them with lots of details and information.
“As a parent myself, I think it is completely understandable that when a serious incident occurs in a school that parents want to know details, but that is often very hard or impossible for us to do.
“Many parents were completely understanding of this and were very supportive. I’d like to thank those individuals for that understanding, particularly when there is so much speculation surrounding their child’s school.
“Sadly, many people believe what they read on social media and traditional media to be fact, or that coverage contains all of the facts, and that was the cause of the vast majority of abuse and misinformation being levied at the school community.
“We will at all times do what we must to protect our staff and pupils from online and physical intrusion and abuse and I
think it is important to urge others to consider what they say and what they read online in future.
“At the centre of this tragic case was a young man who was taken too soon from his family and friends, and the school community will continue to provide support and focus on the well-being of pupils at St Kentigern’s.”
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