LAUREL — Laurel School District schools closed out of an abundance of caution Thursday due to numerous reports of threats circulating on social media that were later found to be "non-credible," officials said.

Superintendent Shawn Larrimore said Thursday afternoon that school would resume Friday, after the Laurel Police Department concluded its investigation and found the threats to be without merit. 

"This is a non-credible threat that has circulated nationwide — from schools in Texas to Pennsylvania," he wrote in an update on the district's website. "In these viral threats, individuals are sharing a picture of a weapon and editing the name of the school or schools at which the threat is supposedly directed. The Laurel Police Department has determined that no intentional, criminal conduct was committed.

"As always, we will continue to remain vigilant and responsive to all threats to student and staff safety, as it is our foremost priority," he continued.

The closure came on the heels of increased police presence at Caesar Rodney High School on Tuesday, after a number of students there reported receiving a picture of guns and knives via messages sent to their cellphones from an unknown individual.

Later that day, the CR district said that the Delaware State Police confirmed "that the air dropped picture of weapons sent to students at the High School yesterday originated in another state and was also distributed to schools in several school districts across the country."