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ANSONIA – A 13-year-old girl was arrested in connection to a threat that caused Ansonia Public Schools to close on Thursday, police said in a press release.
The girl was charged in juvenile court with first-degree threatening and second-degree breach of peace.
Police said they received a complaint at about 6:40 a.m. this morning about a threat to Ansonia schools posted on social media. A message was sent out by Ansonia Public Schools at 7:27 a.m. announcing that school was closed in connection to the threat.
Students on buses heading to school were brought back home, and students already at school were sent home.
The 13-year-old girl confessed to making the post and witnesses were interviewed, according to the police press release.
The press release says that Ansonia schools will resume their regular schedule tomorrow, Sept. 20.
Schools Concerned
In a separate incident in Bridgeport, a juvenile was arrested Wednesday evening in connection to a social media threat made against schools there. The district announced it was closing schools early Thursday (Sept. 19) and would not reopen on Friday (Sept. 20).
Police told The Valley Indy the closure is because of a second and separate, vaguely-worded threat against an unspecified school district.
Superintendents in the region said they are aware of the online threats circulating on social media. Several administrators sent home notes reassuring parents.
Seymour administrators released a statement on Thursday saying there will be an increased police presence at schools there out of an abundance of caution. Outdoor activities are being moved indoors. Seymour was not specifically threatened. However, some students interpreted the Bridgeport threat as being directed at Seymour, according to the letter from the administrators.
“This same threat (as in Bridgeport) has continued to circulate on the internet, and some of our students have interpreted it as targeting Seymour High School and Seymour Middle School,” the statement reads. “We want to assure you that, at this time, the Seymour Police Department does not deem the threat to be credible. However, similar threatening messages have been reported in other municipalities, and we know that the original post was made in Bridgeport.”
The Bridgeport threat has circulated outside of the Valley, too, causing Middletown Public Schools to have an increased police presence on Thursday.
Statements From Police, School Officials
The statement from Ansonia police ends by telling parents to talk to their kids about social media.
“Please speak to your children about how to communicate (i.e. email, social media) in an appropriate manner. Please know that all threats to our schools or students are taken very seriously and are investigated thoroughly,” the statement reads.
“We encourage parents to speak with your child about making the right choices and the potential consequences of their actions.”
In Derby, which has not been targeted by any threats, Superintendent Matthew Conway issued a statement saying the district was aware of threats elsewhere. He said meetings will be held with students in coming days to discuss “the risks and consequences of making threats on social media.”
Don’t Share Threats
Ansonia Police Lt. Patrick Lynch said parents or students who see a threat made online should report it to police. Sharing the post, or screen-shotting the post and posting it to Facebook community groups is not the way to go.
The more the initial image is altered or shared, the harder it is for police to find the source of the original post.
Lynch said intially police received a screen shot of Thursday’s threat with no information about who posted it. Police were able to backtrack where it came from by doing interviews and looking at other screen shots and posts.
But sometimes that’s impossible when the threat goes viral.
Lynch said the Bridgeport school threat led to an arrest Wednesday. But a second threat, more vague, was made on Tik-Tok on Thursday. That’s the one that students all over are attributing to their school when, in fact, it’s not clear.
The police department uploaded a video on Thursday explaining what people can do after seeing threats online. It is embedded below.
