Perhaps it was a note scrawled on a bathroom stall or maybe a call made from a nearby pay phone.

In the past, school threats were relatively limited in how they could be made. With the advancement of technology, however, the ways in which threats of violence can be made — legitimate or not — are endless.

This week in the Mars Area School District, noncredible threats were received on two days.

On Monday, a “potentially threatening” mass email was sent to high school students. A threatening message also was found on the wall of a boys bathroom.

On Tuesday, the district received an inflammatory text message threatening violence at the middle school.

In both instances, the same technology used to make threats was used to track down the suspects who made them. The threats were deemed to be without merit, but the implication should have been and was enough for Adams Township police to get involved. The suspects were arrested and face charges.

The situations that unfolded this week are, unfortunately, not unique to any school district.

According to a report from the Educator’s School Safety Network, threats of violence in K-12 schools increased 62 percent in 2017-18. Social media threats were the most common, followed by written threats in bathrooms and verbal comments. Often, the threats were unspecific in nature, although most were related to school shootings or bomb threats, the report notes.

In Pennsylvania, the state-mandated Safe2Say Something program exists to ensure these threats don’t become something greater. The program educates students and adults on the warning signs of violence, particularly on social media, and to report the issue before it is too late.

Mars Superintendent Wesley Shipley said Tuesday’s incident, which occurred after school hours, was investigated thanks to Safe2Say reporting systems.

This means students are learning that there are consequences to making such threats, and programs are working.

Even if the program is not enough, seeing or hearing about a fellow classmate being placed in handcuffs certainly should be.

Although this week’s threats were deemed to be lacking merit, that didn’t stop Mars officials from taking extra precautionary measures. The newly introduced district police force was beefed up, adding more armed officers at district buildings. Officials also reminded that there are regular bag checks, metal detectors and other security measures in place as standard operating procedure.

We’re glad to see Mars taking the steps needed to ensure school safety, and even happier that the systems in place are working as intended.