Threat Investigation Prompts Early Dismissal At Norwalk School: UPDATE

NORWALK, CT — A threat prompted a police investigation and an early dismissal Thursday afternoon at Brien McMahon High School, according to police.

In a news release, Deputy Police Chief Joe Dinho said the department received "a report of a threatening nature" being made toward Brien McMahon students and staff Thursday morning.

According to Dinho, police immediately notified school resource officers and sent additional officers to the school to bolster security.

Norwalk Public Schools' public safety director was also notified and placed the school on secure mode as officers checked the facility. Detectives also initiated an investigation to determine the source of the threat, Dinho said.

Students at the school were dismissed early around 12:30 p.m. out of an abundance of caution, Dinho said.

Around 1 p.m., Norwalk Public Schools said on Facebook that Brien McMahon was under "an extended hold" while a police investigation was underway.

District officials said a hold is "one of our standard response protocols, and we conduct hold drills throughout the school year."

An alert emailed out to families around 12:30 p.m. said both schools will dismiss students 90 minutes early under a controlled release procedure.

All after school activities at Brien McMahon and the Center for Global Studies, including the high school showcase event, for Thursday have been canceled out of an abundance of caution, district officials said.

All other schools will operate normally for the remainder of the day, including dismissal and after school activities, according to the district.

District officials also asked parents not to call the school or any school personnel, as it would distract them from their response duties.

Parents and family members were also asked not to come to their child's school, as it would cause traffic problems that would "affect first responders and distract them from their primary focus, the safety of your children and the staff," district officials said.

Dinho said the investigation is ongoing and anyone with information is asked to contact the Norwalk Police Department through the Norwalk Police Tip Line at 203-854-3111 or the department's website.

Anonymous text tips can be submitted by typing "NORWALKPD" into the text field, followed by the message, and sending it to TIP411 (847411).