Former NJ Teacher Makes Bomb Threats Against School: Police

HAMILTON, NJ — A former Atlantic County middle school teacher has been arrested for the second time in less than a month for making bomb threats against the school, authorities said.

Shafeyeth Syed, 27, who taught science at William Davies Middle School in the Township of Hamilton until he was fired last month, was arrested on March 8 after making harassing and threatening social media posts towards a schoolteacher and the school's staff, Hamilton police said in an alert.

The post he shared on LinkedIn featured bomb emojis and read:

"💣Attention William Davies💣
Don't go to school tomorrow schools canceled you all are going down with Mr A.
So said
I'm Oppenheimer
Google who he is
And you'll understand what I mean
What that means
Good luck
May the best MAN win 💣"

"Oppenheimer" refers to the "father of the atomic bomb" and his role in the Manhattan Project.

Syed was previously arrested and fired from the school in February after what he claimed was him trying to stop cyberbullying, according to 6abc. He found two problematic social media pages, one of which he said featured students filming other students in the bathroom. Unhappy with the school's response, he admitted to 6abc that he commented "you gonna die" on the social media page.

He told 6abc that it was a lyric from a rap song he used in his classes, but it led to Syed being suspended.

After this suspension, he posted on social media calling for his 8th grade students to turn the school into Capitol Hill, referencing the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection, according to NJ.com. This post led to his firing and initial arrest on charges of causing false public alarm.

Following the recent investigation, Syed was charged with 2nd degree causing public false alarm, 3rd degree terroristic threats, 4th degree cyber harassment and 4th degree contempt of court. The posts also violated the conditions of his release from Atlantic County Justice Facility in February, authorities said.

Authorities said Syed was located in Wilmington, Delaware, where he sits at Howard R. Young Correctional Institution on $3,000 cash bail. The investigation is ongoing.