A Lake Region Union High School student has been charged with domestic terrorism and criminal threatening after threatening the school and its students, according to the Orleans County Sheriff’s Department. The student is set to appear in family court Friday.
The Orleans high school canceled classes Friday after the student made a threat on social media, according to Vermont State Police. It is the second school in Orleans County to close this week due to reported threats.
Other schools in the area will remain open but with modified operations, police said. There will be an increased police presence in the area.
Authorities did not identify the student because the student is underage.
In a message posted Thursday night on the high school’s website, Principal Andre Messier urged students and staff to avoid the building on Friday. He said the threat “targeted the school and specific students,” and he asked anyone with “pertinent information” to contact police.
Orleans Central Supervisory Union Superintendent Penny Chamberlin said in a message posted on district websites that its elementary and middle schools were placed under a “modified lockdown” Thursday night as a result of the threat toward the high school.
Chamberlin said a minor was apprehended by the local sheriff’s department late Thursday night in connection with the threat, after which the modified lockdown for elementary and middle schools in the district was lifted.
“We are greatly appreciative to all members of the community who called and conveyed evidence to administration and the authorities which allowed us to quickly secure the situation,” Chamberlin said.
Orleans Central Supervisory Union serves the towns of Albany, Barton, Brownington, Glover, Irasburg, Orleans and Westmore.
Also in the district, Orleans Elementary School canceled classes Tuesday after receiving a threat last week. The elementary school implemented modified operations Wednesday and had an increased police presence.
Several other schools around the state have received potential threats in recent days. Malletts Bay School in Colchester was evacuated Wednesday after a training grenade was found in a classroom. The school was quickly cleared and police found the grenade to be harmless.
Authorities also seized weapons as part of an investigation into a “potential threat” made at Montpelier High School last month. Police announced the investigation the day after a shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, that left 21 people dead.
Champlain Valley Union High School in Hinesburg last month canceled a student walkout over gun violence and had increased police presence after a threat against the school and specific students was made by a Burlington High School student. Police found there to be no credible threat of violence and increased presence on campus “out of an abundance of caution.”
State police said they are working with Orleans Central Supervisory Union and the Orleans County Sheriff’s Department to investigate the threats.
