Northeast Apprehends Student Who Made Threat

WAKEFIELD – A Northeast Vocational School student was identified and apprehended Wednesday after he showed a fellow student a photo of what appeared to be a handgun and made a threat to harm people at the Wakefield school.

At approximately 10:30 a.m., a student reported to the Wakefield Police Department School Resource Officer that another student had showed him the photo. Superintendent David DiBarri said that the student was quickly identified and located after he allegedly made a threat to commit an act of violence at the school on Wednesday morning.

An investigation of the photo determined that the weapon depicted was actually a BB gun, but the threat and situation were taken seriously from the onset.

As a direct result of the other student's quick thinking and immediate actions in notifying the SRO, the situation was dealt with quickly.

"I am very proud of the student who saw something and said something immediately after learning about a potential threat against our school community," Superintendent DiBarri said. "I am pleased that the procedures we have in place to respond to a threat or potentially dangerous situation were followed and worked correctly, and that this situation was resolved within just a few minutes. Our partnership with our students and our ongoing relationship with police in the communities we serve is extraordinarily important."