Suffolk County Police say a 16-year-old boy posted on his “Belport Scholars” Instagram page on Wednesday that a mass shooting may have occurred at Brookhaven’s Bellport High School on Thursday.
Police searched the teenager’s home on Thursday night after several people called 911.
The spies did not find any weapons.
“We take these threats seriously and will devote our resources to ensuring the safety of our children,” said Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond Tierney. “I thank Suffolk Police for their prompt action. Upon learning of this threat, they worked with my office to trace and interview the person responsible for the threat. In addition, they searched and determined there were no guns in the home. I worked with parents, teachers, school officials, law enforcement, and my office to improve our response to school safety threats and keep our children safe. Holding a School Safety Summit in Suffolk County.”
The teen, whose name is not being released because of his age, has been charged with making terroristic threats and aggravated assault.
His family looked upset and did not say anything outside the court, but in court they said that their son is a good student who made a very bad mistake.
“Thankfully this incident was misconstrued as a terrible prank,” Tierney said. “The accused had no capacity or intention to act on the threat.”
The principal was also among those who called 911.
“We were able to make the arrest in time because people saw something and they said something,” said Rodney Harrison, Suffolk County Police Commissioner.
Police say they acted swiftly with the FBI and realized there was no real threat from the boy.
Suffolk County Chief of Detectives John Rowan said: “We did all of our investigation to determine that there were no weapons in the house.”
The superintendent has informed the students that when the building reopens after the holiday, they will continue to work on the revised lockdown and that the classroom doors will remain closed at all times.
He was put on Supervised Release Probation with GPS and curfew at 9 pm.
The judge also ordered that the juvenile is only allowed to go home and office, does not have access to social media, and must be presented for alcohol and drug tests.
He is being represented by Legal Aid and is due back in court on May 31.
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