Authorities in Springfield, Massachusetts, say a zero tolerance policy is being enforced, following weeks of hoax threats targeting local schools. The change comes after the latest incident led to a teenager’s arrest.
Gathered for an emergency press conference Thursday, city leaders say at least 14 hoax threats have been made since the start of the school year, but with no clear pattern when it comes to schools or age groups involved.
“Everyone has a right to feel safe, and every time one of these threats are made, that safety is eroded, threatened, impacted in a negative way,” said Springfield Public Schools Superintendent Sonia Dinnall. “And we just don't tolerate that.”
Often involving students calling in, texting, or posting the fake threats online, police say all cases have been investigated, with some resulting in criminal complaints while others have led to students being placed in a diversion program.
That changed this week, following an apparent bomb threat targeting Chestnut Middle School.
According to Police Superintendent Larry Akers, a 14-year-old male was arrested hours after police were notified of the threat around 2 a.m. Thursday. Akers said Facebook’s security team reached out to Springfield PD, and an investigation launched immediately.
“[It] took approximately 20 minutes, and at that time, we had somewhat pinpointed a possible person responsible for the threat,” he said. “It was verified at about 3:20am that - we knew where the threat came from, we knew who sent it.”
He said the school was checked and cleared, and the teen student was arrested around 9:40 that morning.
Addressing community concern over why class wasn’t canceled, SPS Director of Safety and Security Adam Fenn says the district would never allow a school to open if it found a threat had any validity.
In the case of Chestnut Middle School, he said officials ruled out a credible threat during their overnight investigation.
“What we really need to realize is … what we see is it's mainly students … making false reports, making false threats. They're even taking it as far as taking a threat that might have come out a week ago - taking it, changing the language on it, and reposting it,” he said during the press conference. “It's mainly social media, but we need everybody to understand at this point … we've reached a tipping point, and again, we don't want any students arrested, but I think at this point we need to have a zero tolerance on this.”
Fenn noted Thursday’s disruption was one of the largest he had seen in over a decade – ultimately, the result of a student who, from what he could tell, simply didn't want to go to school.
It also came on the heels of another threat the day before. Police say the city’s emergency communications team received a call Wednesday about an active shooter inside the Springfield Public Day Elementary School.
Akers said that, thanks to police being able to access interior cameras in the school, no criminal activity was detected. Further investigation led to authorities confirming the call came from a 9-year-old student.
“We were able to check the phone, find out what number it came from, and it actually came back from someone that worked in the school, and then we found out that a student had actually taken that person's phone and then made the threat,” Akers said.
The police superintendent called on parents to monitor their children’s social media accounts and talk with them about the consequences of making fake threats, adding that no one wants to see kids arrested as the department enforces a zero tolerance policy.
Mayor Sarno echoed the call, noting that Springfield isn’t the only community dealing with such threats.
“We are not going to let these individuals dictate that we can't open our schools, and it's being taken seriously - repercussions are going to follow, an arrest has been made on this most recent one, and I hope the courts will send the message, and if need be, send the message to the parents, that you need to take responsibility for your student or your child… or anyone else that's across the country doing this,” Sarno said.
