East Threats Not a Copycat, Officials Say

Though the circumstances were similar—a threat written on a bathroom wall, a lockdown, school emptying out early—to an incident in April, Cherry Hill school officials said they aren't treating Monday's threat at Cherry Hill East as a copycat incident.

School and law enforcement officials met in the wake of the threat, Superintendent Maureen Reusche said, and for various reasons—including the fact it's a new school year with hundreds of new students—the notion of a copycat didn't enter into it.

“That was never raised in our conversation,” she said.

The unspecified threat remains under investigation, Superintendent Maureen Reusche said, both internally and through law enforcement, just as April's incident was handled—though in that case, no culprit was identified.

Reusche has called on parents and students to come forward with information regarding the threat, and said anyone identified as the individual responsible could face in-school disciplinary measures and the possibility of criminal charges.