A 13-year-old student has been arrested as part of an ongoing investigation into a series of threats to New Haven schools.
A hoax 911 call and multiple online threats led to lockdowns at several schools in New Haven on Monday. On Tuesday, police announced the arrest of a 13-year-old Conte West Hills School student, who has since been released to their parents. The child was not named due to their age, and specific charges were not immediately clear.
The series of threats Monday, which police say began with a 911 call falsely reporting a person with a gun near Wilbur Cross High School, led to lockdowns, early dismissals and police responses to multiple city schools. A 17-year-old Wilbur Cross student is accused of making the initial 911 call. Another minor suspect from out of state is accused of making some of the other threats, which were posted to social media.
Police continue to investigate the other threats, which were posted on social media or emailed in. At this time they say none of the threats are credible.
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The threats in New Haven are just one example of the slew of threats and false reports that set off police responses to Connecticut schools in recent days, including a series of threats at Hamden High School and Eli Whitney Tech High School.
Brian Foley, assistant to Connecticut's public safety commissioner, said there are multiple ongoing investigations into school threats across the state right now and that he believes social media is leading to copycat incidents, especially following the deadly school shooting in Michigan.
"Whenever there's a school shooting around the country that receives a lot of attention, you can absolutely expect these threats to occur in the days and weeks after," Foley said at a press conference Tuesday. "Law enforcement handles them as real threats when they get them and then equally as seriously once they're learned to be hoax."
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New Haven police continue to investigate the threats in their city and ask anyone with information to call them at 203-946-6304. Callers can make anonymous tips at 1-866-888-TIPS(8477), or by texting “NHPD plus your message” to 274637 (CRIMES).
