ANSONIA-SEYMOUR — Police said two incidents involving threats at high schools in Ansonia and Seymour on Monday were not connected.
A threat on social media led to a lockdown and early dismissal at Ansonia High School, police said. A school resource officer was notified of the threat at 11 a.m.
Police supervised the early dismissal, going class to class to get students on awaiting buses. The school was later searched as a precaution.
A 14-year-old boy who goes to the school was charged later in the day Monday with first-degree threatening and second-degree breach of peace. State law protects the juvenile’s identity and court info.
“Ansonia Public Schools in collaboration with the Ansonia Police Department will not tolerate any behaviors/actions that put our students, staff, and community at risk. Today’s response was to an Ansonia student’s actions; swift and immediate action will be taken — the appropriate consequences will be administered up to and including expulsion and arrest,” Ansonia Schools Superintendent Joseph DiBacco said in a prepared statement.
At Seymour High School, police charged five students with breach of peace after other students told staffers about an “alarming photo circulating on social media,” police said in a press release.
The five students were allegedly “posing with weapons in a threatening manner.” The students are all minors. The weapons were actually Airsoft rifles and pistols, police said.
According to the statutory definition of breach of peace, a person charged with the crime engaged in threatening behavior and had the intent to “cause inconvenience, annoyance or alarm, or recklessly creating a risk thereof.“
In the prepared statement, Seymour police said the students specifically caused alarm to other students, staff members, and the school environment in general.
“We ask that parents/guardians have a conversation with their children about what is acceptable behavior,” police said in a prepared statement from Commander Michael Fappiano, who pointed out that some children may not realize they’re engaging in public behavior that could alarm others.
The incidents in Ansonia and Seymour are part of a trend of similar threats (or perceived threats) happening at schools all over.
State Sen. Eric Berthel, a Republican from Watertown who represents Seymour, sent a letter to the state Department of Education last week urging the department to allow police to “utilize all the tools at their disposal” to manage an uptick of violence and/or threats in Connecticut schools.
“Aside from the imminent threat to the health and safety of students in our schools, these incidents disrupt the learning process and prohibit students from receiving a proper education,” Berthel wrote.
Like the Ansonia school superintendent, law enforcement in Seymour said they have a zero tolerance policy toward threats and threatening behavior.
”(Seymour Police) Chief Paul Satkowski would like to convey that threats of any nature toward students, school staff and the school environment will not be tolerated and immediate action will be taken toward the offenders,” police said.
