[A] northern Vermont high school closed Thursday following reports that a student had threatened to “shoot up the school.”
North Country Union High School is set to reopen Friday after a 17-year-old accused of making a threat was taken into police custody on “unrelated” charges. He was subsequently released, though conditions restrict his presence at the school, according to a statement from North Country Supervisory Union on Thursday.
The school’s resource officer, Kyle Ingalls, was contacted by a student Wednesday evening who said that they had heard another student threaten to “shoot up the school.”
“Given the amount of information that was being exchanged on social media, we treated the reported threat seriously and we were compelled to cancel school,” the statement from superintendent John Castle said.
Several hours after the first report, at around midnight, police took the 17-year-old male student who allegedly made the threat into custody. According to the supervisory union, he was arrested on “unrelated charges.”
After an investigation Thursday, police “could not determine that the reported threat was credible.” The court later found that there was no credible threat and the 17-year-old was released with “strict conditions,” according to the release.
However, the student’s activities on the school’s campus will be restricted, according to the release. The school established a program that will only allow the student on the campus for scheduled appointments outside of usual school hours.
The Newport Police Department said Thursday evening it was unable to comment on the case because it involves juveniles. The case is being handled by the Orleans County Sheriff’s Office, which did not answer repeated calls Thursday evening.
Other schools in the district remained open Thursday because the threat was reportedly directed specifically at the high school.
A notice on the homepage of the high school’s website Thursday instructed students on who to contact to report concerning behavior and threats of harm or violence.
Castle said in the statement the incident shows the importance of speaking up out public safety concerns, and for “individuals to be clear regarding the source of their information.”
“It is also a reminder that comments that might convey a threat, even if one is not intended, can be perceived as (threatening) to others,” Castle said.
The state has started keeping track of threats against schools since the arrest of a teenager in Fair Haven last year that sparked a statewide conversation about how to better protect students.
Gov. Phil Scott and the state’s teachers union are co-sponsoring a public service campaign encouraging students and other members of the community to “See Something, Say Something” when they witness suspicious activity or signs of mental illness.
