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Dedham High School’s opening football game canceled after shooting threat
An anonymous caller told the school about a rumor that a student was going to “shoot up the football game,” Dedham school officials announced.
A local high school football game was canceled Friday after an anonymous caller told the school about a rumor that a student was going to “shoot up the football game,” school officials announced.
Dedham High School’s football team was set to play Dover Sherborn High School on Friday night before the school received a call from a blocked phone number Friday morning. The caller told Dedham police about the rumor suggesting gun violence at the game, and no other details were provided, school officials said.
In a joint statement, Superintendent Nan Murphy and Chief of Police Mike D’Entrement said police were contacted immediately and are investigating.
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As of 3:20 p.m. on Friday, officials said the game would go on as scheduled with an increased police presence. Fans would only be able to enter in one gate, and visitors would not be allowed to enter the field or stands with any bag or container.
“While we have no reason to believe there is an immediate threat, the district is proceeding with extreme caution,” they wrote. “It is critical that families and students in attendance remain vigilant.”
About an hour later, Dedham Public Schools shared on Facebook that the game was canceled. Dover Sherborn school officials followed up with their own announcement canceling the junior varsity game scheduled for Saturday.
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“While we do not wish to exist in a society where fear and threats of violence govern our decisions, the safety of our students must come first,” Superintendent Beth McCoy and other top Dover Sherborn officials wrote.
Dedham School Committee Vice Chair Stephen Acosta wrote on Facebook Friday called the cancelation frustrating.
“While this threat remains unsubstantiated as of this post, it is a troubling reminder that, especially in the wake of yet another school shooting, our school community is unfortunately not immune,” Acosta wrote.
The threat came after four people, including two 14 year olds, were killed on a shooting at a Georgia high school on Wednesday. The alleged shooter, also 14, had been previously investigated for making online threats the year before.
Police did not return a request for an investigation update on Sunday evening.
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