Teen Threatens HCPSS Superintendent Over Redistricting: Police

CLARKSVILLE, MD — The controversial redistricting plan proposed by Howard County Public School System Superintendent Michael Martirano has reached a new level of concern. Howard County Police report that a 15-year-old sophomore at River Hill High School in Clarksville posted a death threat on social media aimed at Martirano.

Kathryn McKinley, River Hill’s principal, wrote in an email addressed to the school’s community Sept. 17 that a student had made “a very serious and direct threat” on social media.

“This morning, I received information about a social media threat which involved one of our students. The threat was not directed at our school, nor was it directed at any individual in our school community. However, the message included a very serious and direct threat to a school system official,” McKinley wrote in the email.

McKinley and River Hill Schools administration, county police, school system central office staff and the Office of School Safety and Security immediately launched an investigation and have met with the student and the parents “to discuss this concern and next steps.”

The threat was posted on TikTok, a popular video app, “a couple of weeks ago, [and] it has since been deleted,” Lori Boone, a police spokeswoman, said in an email sent to the Capital Gazette.

Police have since determined that the teen did not issue a "legitimate threat" but instead was supposed to be a "joke." Boone said that charges against the teenager are still being considered.

Read the full story at the Capital Gazette.

SEE ALSO:

• Columbia Families Can Attend Public Hearings About Redistricting
• Ellicott City Families Can Attend Redistricting Public Hearings
• Howard County Public Schools Reveals Boundary Adjustments
• HoCo Executive Calvin Ball Speaks Out About School Redistricting