Thomas Howard, City Marshal
4 Green St.
Newburyport, MA 01950
For Immediate Release
Wednesday, September 9, 2014
Contact: John Guilfoil
Phone: 617-993-0003
Newburyport Police Investigate Email Threat Made to High School This Morning
School Briefly Locked Down, Classes Resumed at 9 a.m.
NEWBURYPORT – City Marshal Thomas H. Howard announces that the Newburyport Police Department is working with its law enforcement partners to investigate an anonymous threat made to Newburyport High School this morning.
The email, received by a school administrator, made unspecific threats against faculty, staff, and students in the high school. The high school went into lockdown mode immediately, and police were called.
The Newburyport Police Department, with mutual aid assistance from the Amesbury Police Department and the Amesbury Police K-9, Merrimac Police, Salsibury Police, West Newbury Police, Newbury Police, and the Massachusetts State Police with their K-9 units, secured the building.
The building was determined to be safe, and classes resumed while police continued their investigation. The case remains under investigation.
Police do not believe that those inside were in any danger, however one student, a 16-year-old boy, was arrested after police, searching the building responding to the threat, found a butterfly knife with his property. His name will not be released because of his age.
Police do not believe the boy is connected to the email threat.
“I want to thank our neighboring communities and the State Police for providing such a tremendous mutual aid response to Newburyport today,” Marshal Howard said. “This was an efficient, measured action by police, responding to a threat. What is important is that our children are safe, and no one was hurt today.”
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