Nutley HS Student Arrested, Cops Probe ‘Alarming’ Instagram Video

NUTLEY, NJ -- The Nutley Police Department and the Essex County Prosecutors office announced that a Nutley High School student was arrested following an investigation into an “alarming” Instagram video. Police presence at the town's schools will be increased beginning Monday, authorities said.

On Friday, the Nutley Police Department released the following statement about the arrest of 18-year-old Joseph Rafanello:

"The Nutley Police Department in conjunction with the Essex County Prosecutors office has been investigating the posting of an alarming video to Instagram. After fully investigating the incident we charged [Rafanello] with 3rd degree False Public Alarm for his part in posting the video to the social media site. Rafanello a Nutley High School student, was arrested and taken to the Essex County Jail.”

Nutley police said that at this point, their investigation has not uncovered any further active security threats to any of the town’s public schools.

According to police:

“We will continue to work with the school district to ensure the safety of our schools. We will be increasing patrols around all our schools when school begins on Monday. This is just a proactive measure and not related to any further threats.”

Commissioner Alphonse Petracco and Chief Thomas Strumolo released a joint statement that said “anyone thinking about making threats to our schools will be identified and prosecuted utilizing all available resources.”

Petracco and Strumolo said:

“We also want to thank the parents and community members for being patient and allowing us to fully investigate this matter. We assure you we will do everything we can to continue to protect our schools. In addition they commended the hard work of all Detectives involved in the investigation and the Essex County Prosecutors Office for their assistance. We further want to reassure all parents and residents that we take all threats against the safety of our schools seriously and will fully investigate all threats until our schools are deemed safe.”

• See related article: Nutley Schools Closed Because Of Security Threat
• See related article: Group Of Nutley Parents Wants Armed Guards In Schools

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