Fairfield County schools experience surge of threats
Throughout early December, several schools in Fairfield County have seen misleading threats against high schools, most recently, Greenwich High School.
A threatening message, which the police labeled as ‘disturbing’ was found in a Greenwich High School bathroom early Thursday morning, Dec. 9. With the involvement of the Greenwich Police Department, two additional School Resource Officers have been deployed as the threat is being investigated. Along with claiming that it isn’t “imminent,” the GPD have debunked rumors of a gun and an arrest.
However, Greenwich is only one of several Fairfield County schools that have experienced threats and rumors surrounding school safety within the past 10 days.
From Dec. 1-8, three threats were made against Norwalk High School, including a bomb threat and two fake reports of an armed student.
After the involvement of the FBI, a student suspect was placed into custody on counts of threatening, breach of peace, falsely reporting an incident and conspiracy.
One day later, a surge of unsettling rumors at Trumbull High School had students and parents concerned about the possibility of an attack. Although the rumors were deemed “unfounded” by principal Guarino, the school district plans to increase its police presence.
Additionally, Danbury High School was dismissed early on Dec. 3 due to reports of a shooting that were later found not credible.
This recent rise in threats has prompted concern from some Staples students about school safety and security precautions.
“I feel as though we’re not talking much about [the threats] here, which is a problem,” Ben Larrson ’23 said. “It’s important we stay up to date on what’s happening at other schools so that we can find solutions.”
Isabella Roberts ’23, however, is confident that the district is prepared for the possibility of a threat.
“It’s definitely scary because it’s so close to our school and our homes,” Roberts said. “However, I think our school is doing a pretty good job with making sure everything is safe and reassessing our protocols.”
Founder of the Chess club at Staples High School, Jason Stein ’22 was looking for an opportunity to integrate his two passions: chess and journalism....
