Derby Middle School is closed Tuesday as police continue to investigate a threat found in the girl's bathroom Monday, according to Derby police.
A message scrawled on a bathroom stall was found around 11:45 a.m. on Monday and school officials implemented a "lock-in," according to Derby superintendent Dr. Matthew Conway.
Police said they deemed the threat low level because it was written out instead of delivered, so they conducted a search and gave the "all clear" by about 2:40 p.m. yesterday, according to a news release from police.
Investigators are working to identify the person who wrote the threat, Conway said.
He said that there was no threat to the middle school or any other school in the district, but that school officials were taking "every precaution and utilizing every resource available" to make sure "students, staff and parents feel safe reentering the school," Conway said in a written statement.
"We treat every threat as real and have taken the immediate and necessary actions to ensure all students are safe," Conway said. "While we regret parents were not notified earlier in the day on Monday, all students arrived home safely."
The building was not evacuated and police began focusing on a small number of individuals.
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Then, Monday night, the board of education decided to close the middle school for Tuesday and requested help from the state police bomb squad.
"As a result of an extreme abundance of caution, a sweep of the building was conducted by explosive detection canines this morning with negative results," a news release from police says.
This morning, school officials posted a statement on the district website:
"Yesterday a threatening statement was discovered on a bathroom wall at the middle school. While the police have determined there is not a credible threat, they are working today to identify the source of the statement. In the meantime we are taking every precaution and utilizing every resource available to us to ensure students, staff and parents feel safe reentering the school. There is no threat to the middle school or any other school."
