Belleville Police Probe Student’s Posts; ‘No School Threat'

BELLEVILLE, NJ — A student in Belleville recently posted a series of “inappropriate” memes to social media, prompting police to pay a visit to the student’s home, authorities said.

Belleville Schools Superintendent Richard Tomko said Wednesday that there was “never any imminent threat to any person at our schools.”

According to Tomko, on Tuesday evening, he learned about a Belleville police investigation into an alleged “harassment situation” involving a pair of local students that has been taking place out of school for the past two weeks. The investigation didn’t have any connection to any situation at school, and no school officials were involved, he said.

“During the course of the investigation and due to the thorough work of our Belleville detectives, officers uncovered some inappropriate social media posts – ‘memes’ – by one of the students involved,” Tomko said. “Police quickly identified the author of this post, and they responded to the student’s home.”

Tomko added that the student told police the posts were meant as a joke. Officers took the student for further questioning; the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office was notified and assisted with the investigation.

The superintendent emphasized that there was never any imminent threat to any person in Belleville’s schools. He thanked the Belleville Police Department and the Belleville School Safety Services team for their responses.

Tomko wrote:

“In light of the events that have occurred over the past week in neighboring districts, it is most important that we continue to communicate with you to assure you that we are working together to investigate and mitigate any and all concerns related to our district schools. It is also important to note that these ‘jokes’ and individual comments towards others on social media will not be tolerated in the Belleville Public Schools District nor throughout the Belleville community. Furthermore, it is imperative that our school community understands that our administration and staff work together with the fine men and women of the Belleville Police Department to continuously ensure that our students and faculty remain safe in our school buildings. Working with Police Chief Minichini and Mr. Rubin, School Safety Services Director, we continue to take proactive measures as an assurance that Belleville remains on the forefront of school safety and awareness.”

Tomko will give a brief school safety presentation at 7 p.m. at the public Board of Education meeting on Monday, Feb. 26 in the Belleville High School Auditorium. The presentation will also include information about “what measures have been taken with regard to recent concerns surrounding influenza.”

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The social media post investigation in Belleville comes less than week after a suspected, Instagram-born “security threat” closed schools in Nutley.

The Instagram video, posted on Feb. 15, allegedly contained photos of teenagers appearing to shoot a handgun and a rifle at a firing range. It showed Nutley High School and unidentified children in a classroom, and was set to the song "Pumped Up Kicks" by Foster The People, which includes the lyrics, "You'd better run, better run, outrun my gun," NJ.com reported.

• See related article: Group Of Nutley Parents Wants Armed Guards In Schools

Last weekend, the Bloomfield school district also dealt with a police investigation into a student’s social media post. In that instance, a student allegedly posted a photo of himself with a weapon on social media. The caption to the photo made a "derogatory and inflammatory reference" to a fatal school shooting, authorities said.

• See related article: Bloomfield Student's Gun Photo Causes Stir

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