Increased Security At New Rochelle High School After Alleged Threats
NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- There was tight security at New Rochelle High School Tuesday following a series of alleged threats.
Students arrived at school for the Regents exams, met by an increased police presence.
"I think there is cause for concern for all of us when kids don't feel safe going to school, teachers don't feel safe going to their jobs," resident Audrey Schudy told CBS2's Natalie Duddrige. "I don't know what the answer is."
The superintendent of schools sent a letter to parents Monday saying the increased safety measures, which included officers performing safety sweeps at the school overnight, were being put in place after three different alleged threats.
On May 23, the superintend said graffiti was found in a school bathroom that read "we are gonna shoot up the school June 5 18." Police have still not found the person behind that message.
Then on June 1, a similar message was found in a bathroom stall. The superintendent said police identified the student, who called it a hoax and the school is taking disciplinary action against the student.
On June 3, parents reported a social media post warning students not to go to school. Police tracked down that student, who says they weren't making a threat but instead were referencing the bathroom graffiti, officials said.
As a precaution Tuesday, police restricted all students and staff to two entrances and only students there for exams or special activities were allowed into the school.
But some students say the beefed up security isn't new. They say it started in January after two separate stabbing incidents and a laceration, one of them fatal.
"There's been police inside at all times, at the front," one student said. "It's been for a few months ever since the stabbings."
