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The message was written on a partition inside the Stony Brook School boys bathroom — something about a bomb.
School was just ending and the students were on their way home, said Superintendent Everett V. Olsen, when public safety officials arrived and let the K-9 officer, trained to sniff for bombs, canvas the middle school.
“Police did a thorough sweep of the building,” Olsen said, noting that no bomb was discovered.
On Friday, Sept. 22, students arrived at Stony Brook to a “strong police presence,” said Olsen, and their backpacks were searched. The day went smoothly and everyone cooperated, he added.
“This is not a joking matter,” Olsen said. “We have to make sure that the building is secure. All of us take this very seriously.”
Olsen said security cameras near the school’s bathroom are being checked and students’ writing samples are being scrutinized to determine if there’s a handwriting match with the threat.
Some eight or nine years ago, criminal charges were brought against a student who made a threat inside a school building, Olsen recalled.
“We’re not out to negatively disrupt a child’s life,” he said. “We just want to work with them and the family to make sure they understand the danger and significance of something like this, and help them grow from this so they don’t have the inclination to do it again.”
But, Olsen added,”We won’t do anything to endanger the lives of the students.”
When middle schoolers return on Monday, Sept. 25, they most likely will not see police and their backpacks won’t be searched, said the superintendent.
“We’re going under the assumption that it was a hoax,” Olsen said.
