Four students ranging from 12 to 15-years-old are charged with posting a threat online that forced several schools to close. School leaders said they didn’t believe the threat was credible but closed out of an abundance of caution. NBC10’s Leah Uko spoke with students and police about the incident.
Several schools in South Jersey were closed on Monday, Sept.9, 2024, due to a shooting threat that was posted to social media that named several schools the night before.
The post, which may have originated from TikTok, threatened that there would be a shooting at five schools in South Jersey including, Woodbury Junior-Senior High School, Bowe Middle School, Holy Angels Catholic School, Haddon Heights Junior-Senior High School and Oak Valley School.
Early Monday, officials with the Harrison Township Police Department said that at least three juveniles were taken into custody after these threats were made: aged 12, 14 and 15. They are from Woodbury, Glassboro, and Mullica Hill.
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Also, in Washington Township, police officials said that a different online threat was made by student at Bunker Hill Middle School who was taken into custody as well.
It is not clear if the threat made against Bunker Hill was related to the other threats against South Jersey schools.
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The boy from Bunker Hill arrested this Monday morning was charged with false public alarm and making terroristic threats.
Sunday night, the Woodbury Police Department posted an update on Facebook that said they had a juvenile suspect in custody as investigators continued to gather information.
Another post on social media on Sunday shared a screenshot of the original post that made the threat on the schools.
Woodbury City Public School closed all schools in its district on Monday due to the threat. All transportation services and after-school activities were also canceled.
“While we do not believe the threat to be credible, we are exercising extreme caution to ensure the safety of our students, staff and families,” Woodbury school district Superintendent Andrew Bell wrote in an emergency statement.
“Whenever we receive these. We have to take them as seriously as possible and that’s also the frustrating thing. Right now we all understand the spotlight that can come from these warnings," Chief Thomas Ryan with the Woodbury City Police Department said.
The Deptford Township School District also posted a message to its website alerting parents, students and staff about the threat.
The school district decided r to also close its schools on Monday.
"After carefully reviewing the progress of the investigation with our security team and law enforcement this evening, I have decided to close schools for Monday, September 9, 2024, out of an abundance of caution and for the safety and security of our entire Deptford Spartan Community," Superintendent Kevin Kanauss said in a statement Sunday night. "Transportation to GCIT and other out-of-district schools will not be provided and ALL extracurricular activities have been canceled as well."
The Glassboro School District also put out a message to alert parents, students and staff to the threat and that there would be an increased police presence on Monday at its schools. They said Monday night that they would continue to have added security.
“Glassboro PD has [assured] us that at a minimum, there will be enhanced security/police presence at all of our schools tomorrow and as long as necessary,” the school district said in a statement posted to its website.
The Haddon Heights Police Department also alerted the public that they are aware of the threat but said “that there is no credible threat to any school within our local jurisdiction at this time.” They said additional resources would be deployed at all local schools Monday.
A teacher at Holy Angels said the Catholic school was set to be closed Monday.
“I was shaking. I was about to cry," Hailey Miller, a student at Woodbury Junior-Senior High School, said about when she seen the post.
Miller said many people in the comment section were reaching out to the person who posted it in the comment section trying to help.
"They were trying to help [them]—as many as they can like they were asking questions…’Hey, here’s my number. Text me we can work through this,'” Miller said.
In a statement released Monday afternoon, officials said they were unsure if classes would resume on Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024.
"We are aware of additional threats made today, and are in continued contact with law enforcement; for the moment, we are standing by on whether to open schools on Tuesday, September 10. When we do return to school, we will do so with an increased presence of Deptford Township Police in the vicinity of our buildings," Deptford Township school officials said in a statement.
Later Monday night Deptford school officials said school would be open on Tuesday with an increased police presence, all activities held indoors and an assembly with Deptford police.
All South Jersey schools were back open on Tuesday and school districts spoke with students, along with the police, about the repercussions they face if they make terroristic threats online—including ones they mistakenly think are anonymous.
“We just want to make them aware of what’s going on in the real world right now and you have to be honest with them and let them know what’s going on because they need to be prepared if something like this, God forbid, happens in their school," Holly Porcellini, a parent, said.
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