N. Caldwell Police Questioning West Essex Students

Three boys who attend West Essex High School were detained by North Caldwell Police and are being questioned Monday after one of the students reported to an administrator that he allegedly had been threatened by the other students and that a weapon may have been brought to the school, North Caldwell Police Chief Mark Deuer said.

West Essex High School was in a modified lockdown for about an hour Monday morning while police detained a 17-year-old boy and two 15-year-old boys allegedly involved in the incident. The Essex County Sherriff's K-9 Unit was brought in to search the school for weapons and explosives, Deuer said, adding that "nothing was discovered."

One of the 15-year-old boys allegedly told an administrator that, "There are two guys who were looking to harm him today and that there was supposedly a weapon in the school," Deuer said. The administrator notified the police at 9:37 Monday morning, Deuer said.

The three students apparently had an incident over the weekend which was not resolved and it spilled over into Monday, Deuer said.

"We did a modified lockdown, which is all the kids in the room and no one changes classes until we figure out what's going on," Deuer said. "No one was going to change classrooms until we cleared the situation."

After the school was in a modified lockdown, the three students that were involved were isolated in different sections of the school, Deuer said.

The school was deemed safe and resumed its normal operation around 10:30 a.m., Deuer said.

Around noon, North Caldwell Police were still waiting for the students' parents to arrive in order to conduct interviews in the investigation.

"It is my responsibility to ensure that every student is safe," Deuer said. The chief added that "on the flip side" the police do not tolerate someone making a false public announcement and that if this turns out to be the case, there could be a charge of "false public alarm," Deuer said.

Police officers from Fairfield, Essex Fells, Roseland and West Caldwell responded to the scene as part of the school's lockdown procedure, Deuer said, as did the Sherriff's Department and the West Essex First Aid Squad.

Update: North Caldwell Police Chief Mark Deuer has reported that students do not face any charges.