Groveland teen arrested, charged with making threat against school
A 17-year-old male student at Pentucket Regional High School was arrested Tuesday evening after police say he made a threat over social media.
Groveland police said the department learned of the Instagram post, showing the teen with what appeared to be a firearm tucked in his waistband and a reference to the first day of school, when another juvenile reported seeing the photo to the West Newbury Police Department around 7 p.m. Police arrested the 17-year-old just before 9 p.m. at his Groveland home and he was charged with communicating a threat to a public school.
It was determined the gun depicted in the photo was an Airsoft pistol, which police said is still considered a firearm for the purposes of school building threats.
Many of district’s students are returning to school on Wednesday, and Groveland police said they do not believe there was ever any danger to the school community.
“Regardless of the intent or lack thereof behind these kinds of social media postings, municipal police departments take any form of threat against a school very seriously,” Groveland Police Chief Robert Kirmelewicz.
Each year, the three police departments covering Pentucket — Groveland, West Newbury, and Merrimac — have an increased presence at the district’s six campuses on the first day of school, police said.
“I am confident that the start of the new school year will be a positive one for our students, faculty, staff, and families,” Pentucket Superintendent Jeffrey Mulqueen said in a statement.
The student is being held without bail and will be arraigned Wednesday in Lawrence Juvenile Court.
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