Cyber threat dispatches police to Barre schools
Toolbox
By DAVID DELCORE TIMES ARGUS STAFF - Published: April 9, 2009
BARRE – An empty cyber threat that had several central Vermont schools on red alert Wednesday morning was quickly traced to two students at Spaulding High School.
Barre Police Chief Timothy Bombardier said the threat, which was posted in a chat room on an Internet gaming site, was called to the attention of local authorities shortly before 7 a.m. Wednesday – triggering a chain of events that led to heightened police presence at several area schools before classes got under way.
According to Bombardier, operators of Internet gaming site "Rune Scape" notified police that someone in the greater Barre area had posted a message essentially threatening to get a gun and "shoot up the school" of a fellow gamer.
Although the target of the threat was not known, Bombardier said the Internet Service Provider for the people who posted it was traced to central Vermont, prompting his decision to warn school officials in Barre and several neighboring communities and launch an investigation. He made no apologies for what some may perceive as an overreaction.
"I'd rather be safe than sorry," he said. "It's better than if we'd done nothing and something bad happened."
Bombardier acknowledged the reported "threat" was suitably vague and police moved swiftly to identify its source – a mission that was accomplished with the assistance of representatives of Charter Communications, the security department of the United Kingdom-based gaming site, and the Vermont Fusion Center.
According to Bombardier, investigators were able to identify the Barre-based ISP address and determine that the "threat" was posted by two 14-year-old Spaulding students who were pulled out of school and interviewed Wednesday morning.
Bombardier said the students admitted to posting the "threat," – "I am going to get my dad's gun and shoot up your school" – but denied having any intention of carrying it out. In fact, he confirmed that while there were weapons in the home where the computer in question was located, those weapons were secured and the students did not have access to them.
"The people were not capable of carrying out the threat," he said, noting the guns have since been removed from the home.
After conferring with Washington County States Attorney Tom Kelly, Bombardier said the students – both minors – would be dealt with through the state's juvenile court system. He said they would likely face "reparative" not "punitive" sentences for what amounts to a misdemeanor.
"That would better serve the public's interest at this point," he said, acknowledging the student's ill-advised use of language on the Internet created some tense moments Wednesday morning.
"It was not their intent to have this happen, but they disrupted the lives of 4,000 students today," he said.
Due to the vague nature of the threat, Bombardier said school officials in several area communities, including Barre, Montpelier, Barre Town, Berlin and Williamstown were warned to be on alert shortly before school opened.
"If it (the call) had come earlier (in the morning) or late (Tuesday) night we could have delayed school opening," he said, explaining that wasn't possible given the fact that some students were already at school, others were waiting at bus stops or on the way.
That was the case in the two-town, three-school Barre Supervisory Union, where Superintendent John Bacon said officials at elementary schools in Barre and Barre Town, as well as Spaulding High School, took the threat seriously.
According to Bacon, students at Barre City Elementary and Middle School were initially held on buses just down the hill from the school and later allowed into the school where faculty and staff conducted "backpack checks."
With some students in the building at Spaulding and others outside, Bacon said the high school went into "lockdown."
Only the front entrance to the school was left unlocked and additional police officers were summoned to the school. He said plans to conduct a "backpack check" at the high school were aborted when word came shortly before 9 a.m. that police had identified potential suspects.
"We knew we were all clear by … 8:45 (a.m.)," Bacon said. "By 9 (a.m.) everything was back to normal."
According to Bacon, officials at Barre Town Middle and Elementary School took extra precautions Wednesday morning. He said parents of students at all three public schools were informed the "schools were safe" using a new mass notification system at approximately 9:30 a.m.
Bombardier said St. Monica School in Barre and a number of other area schools, including Montpelier High School, were all on alert Wednesday morning. Fortunately, he said the need for the heightened level of security didn't last long.
"We had this resolved in two hours give or take," Bombardier said, noting that as soon as authorities confirmed the students posed no threat officials were notified that schools could resume their normal routine.
Spaulding Principal Bob Phillips said the two unnamed students could potentially face disciplinary action for violating school policy. However, Phillips said the incident served as an important reminder for youngsters and their parents when it comes to the acceptable use of the Internet.
"This was a good warning," he said.
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