Administrators at Male High School in Louisville, Ky., attempted to shield students from a video suicide note that a 16-year-old Louisville Male student posted just moments before killing herself Monday night.
The student posted a three-minute video titled “Important.” on YouTube and then shared the link with friends through her Twitter account.
Jefferson County Public Schools officials shut down network access to Twitter and YouTube for about an hour on Tuesday morning after learning that students were sharing the video, the Louisville Courier-Journal reported.
“The safety and security of our students is our No. 1 priority. Jefferson County Public Schools is doing everything possible to support students who are grieving at this time," district spokeswoman Mandy Simpson said in a statement published in the Courier-Journal.
"We temporarily removed access to Twitter and YouTube this morning. This was an effort to ensure that students who are emotionally impacted could get the help they needed as we worked with officials to address the situation through the most appropriate and efficient channels,” Simpson also said.
Students were still able to watch the video on their cell phones, though. The video gained more than 10,000 views before being removed at about 4:30 p.m. Tuesday.
The Jefferson County School Board voted in September to allow students to use their cellphones during school hours at select schools so that the smartphones could be used as educational tools.