Schools Closed Friday Out of Abundance of Caution, To Resume Monday, Nov. 2
HOLBROOK — Chief William Smith and Superintendent Julie Hamilton report that the Holbrook Police Department today have charged a juvenile student of the Holbrook Public Schools after he allegedly emailed a violent threat against Holbrook Middle-High School to a school official Thursday.
A 13-YEAR-OLD MALE FROM HOLBROOK was charged with:
- Making Terroristic Threats
- Threats to Commit a Crime
Because the student is a juvenile, their identity is being withheld. The student will be arraigned at Quincy Juvenile Court at a later date.
At approximately 6:40 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 29, a Holbrook Public Schools staff member received an email threatening a violent act at the middle school. School administrators immediately notified the Holbrook Police Department and an investigation was launched.
Out of an abundance of caution, the decision was made by Superintendent Hamilton to close all Holbrook Public Schools on Friday. Parents were notified of the decision last night. Classes will resume again on Monday, Nov. 2.
Through the subsequent investigation, Holbrook Police, working with the Massachusetts State Police Fusion Center, were able to identify the suspect as a student. Police were able to ultimately determine that the threat was not credible.
“We take any all threats to our schools with the utmost seriousness and I am glad that we were able to bring this investigation to an end quickly and with the suspect being identified and charged,” Chief Smith said. “I am relived that the threat was determined not to be credible and want to say that school staff did a great job of quickly making us aware of the incident so we could act swiftly. I would also like to thank the State Police for their assistance in the investigation.”
The incident remains under active investigation by the Holbrook Police Department.
“We are grateful to the Holbrook Police Department and State Police for their efforts in quickly solving this case and making sure that our schools are safe,” Superintendent Hamilton said. “The safety and well-being of our students, faculty and staff is our top priority and that led to the decision to cancel school today out of an abundance of caution. The closure gave investigators time to complete their investigation while knowing our students were safe.”
These are allegations. All suspects are innocent until proven guilty.
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