Custodian Arrested for Shooting Threat Against Stafford School

STAFFORD, CT — Schools in Stafford were in a brief soft lockdown on Monday as a middle school custodian was arrested for making a shooting threat against the school, state police said.

School system officials said the move at the education complex was purely "precautionary" as troopers took 58-year-old David Wachta into custody. Wachta, a Monson, MA resident, was being investigated after state police received a complaint Friday about a threat he had made specifically against Stafford Middle School, a report indicates.

State police were told Wachta said he was going to "shoot the school up," according to a report. He was charged with first-degree threatening and second-degree breach of peace and was being held on a $100,000 bond, state police said.

The soft lockdown was imposed at about 10 a.m., school officials said. The school day went on just more than a hour later under extra security, officials said.

Students were expected to be dismissed on time, school system officials said.

Photo Credit: Stafford Schools