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West Bridgewater students used app to mimic gunfire in ‘prank’ threat, police say
The students allegedly made a series of prank phone calls to local businesses and pretended they were present at a school shooting.
School safety:
West Bridgewater police will up their presence at the town’s schools Tuesday after students allegedly made prank phone calls to local businesses threatening to shoot up a school, even using an app to mimic the sounds of gunfire.
The students were on a bus from the Howard Elementary and Spring Street schools around 3:10 p.m. Monday when they called local businesses and pretended they were present at a school shooting, the West Bridgewater Police Department said in a news release. The students also threatened violence toward a school, police alleged.
School officials notified a school resource officer, who looped in West Bridgewater police, according to the news release. Police interviewed the students on the bus and spoke to them again later at home with their parents.
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In light of these conversations, officers did not believe the shooting threats were credible, according to the release. Still, authorities opted to increase their presence at the town’s schools “out of an abundance of caution,” West Bridgewater police said.
The West Bridgewater prank calls come as several schools around Massachusetts have seen threats disrupt the start of the new school year. In Waltham, police said they determined a local student was behind an online threat directed at McDevitt Middle School over the weekend.
“The threat was determined to be non-credible,” Waltham police said in a Monday news release. “There is no evidence of a shooting being planned or attempted. The investigation is still active and charges are pending.”
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A sweep of the middle school turned up no weapons Sunday, and school officials asked students to leave their backpacks at home Monday. Waltham police have increased their patrols around the city’s schools for the rest of the week as a precaution, according to the news release.
Threats and safety concerns have also impacted recent high school football games in Western Massachusetts, Newburyport, and Dedham, Boston.com previously reported.
Newburyport had another scare Monday evening when police learned of a threat made over Snapchat about a student bringing a gun to Nock Middle School. Investigators ultimately determined the threat did not come from a student within the city’s school system, Newburyport police said in a news release.
“Investigators were also able to determine that there was no credibility or means to commit the threat that was communicated,” police said, noting that the threat and subsequent investigation happened outside of school hours.
“I am extremely grateful for the diligence and expediency of our investigators in determining the source of this threat,” Newburyport Police Lt. Matt Simons said in a statement. “The safety of our schools remains a paramount priority and our presence in the schools will be commonplace each day throughout the year.”
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