Parents and several schools in Gloucester County were put on high alert on the weekend of Sept. 7 after terroristic threats of mass shootings were posted on social media.
Among the schools involved were Oak Valley Elementary School in Deptford, Woodbury Junior and Senior High School and Thomas E. Bowe Middle School in Glassboro. Some of the districts – including Deptford – canceled school on Sept. 9, the first day of class after the threats were made.
“After carefully reviewing the progress of the investigation with our security team and law enforcement this evening,” township school Superintendent Kevin Kanauss said in a statement on Sept. 8, “I have decided to close schools … out of an abundance of caution and for the safety and security of our entire Deptford Spartan Community.”
Towns and schools that were not threatened, such as Mantua and Harrison Township, were nevertheless put on notice, and while they didn’t cancel classes, they issued statements on the threats.
“School security and student safety are of the utmost importance to me and our district,” emphasized Mantua school Superintendent Christine Trampe. “It is for that reason that each of our schools has an armed School Resource Officer (SRO) for the entire school day, every day.
The Mantua Township Police Department and I have been in constant communication throughout this situation, and there will be additional police presence at our schools today (Sept. 9).”
“As many of you may be aware,” the Harrison Township School District posted on Facebook, “there were social media posts made that referenced threats to various schools in the general South Jersey area. Harrison Township Schools were not mentioned. However, these posts have been taken very seriously by all agencies involved, including all surrounding agencies.”
The threats came just days after a shooter killed two students and two teachers at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia. Nine others were injured.
Police departments across Gloucester County – as well as the county prosecutor’s office – eventually announced that three juveniles ages 12, 14 and 15 were arrested in connection with the threats, according to Deptford police.
The suspects hailed from Woodbury, Glassboro and Harrison, respectively. A fourth suspect from Washington Township, a student at Bunker Hill Middle School, was also arrested. The juveniles were each formally charged with causing a false public alarm and terroristic threats.
“The safety of our 7,000 students, teachers and staff remains our number-one priority,” said township Police Chief Patrick Gurscick. “Parents are asked to please speak to your children and remind them if they see something, they should say something.”
School district administrators throughout the county thanked law enforcement for their work in the case.
“I’d like to begin with another big thank you to our local, county, and state law enforcement agencies,” Kanauss noted. “We could not ask for better partners as we navigate the challenges of the past 24 hours.”
