Threat Written On Wall Prompts More Security At Somers MS

SOMERS, NY — Somers school officials and the Westchester County Police are investigating who was responsible for a statement written Friday on the wall of the boy’s bathroom at Somers Middle School. In a letter to parents and the community, Superintendent Dr. Raymond H. Blanch said that, even though several children were interviewed Friday and Saturday, police have been unable to identity who wrote the statement.

At the end of the school day Friday the message, which said “I am going to shoot up the school,” was found with a student’s name written beside it.

That student was questioned and denied writing it.

“It appears the intent of the statement was to get another student in trouble,” Blanch said.

“While this event appears to be a horrible adolescent prank, we will not take any situation lightly,” he said. “We are committed to ensuring the safety of our children.”

Additional police were present at the middle school Monday, and the main entrance was monitored by additional staff during arrival.

“As you may already be aware, each school will have a Westchester police officer present starting in the fall. (An increase of two officers from this year.) Currently we are having an external safety audit of our schools completed. This work will complement our current safety and security teams at each school, multiple safety drills/trainings, and random school safety checks of our schools. Once the report and identified actions needed to be taken are identified, we will be able to recommend the most appropriate steps to make our schools even safer. We also anticipate building the security vestibules at PES and SMS starting in the fall (pending state approval),” Blanch said.

“We understand that an event of this nature may cause stress or anxiety for children,” he said. “Should you notice your child being impacted, I ask that you please contact the counseling department so that we may be of support.”

Blanch suggested that parents go to this link from the National Association of School Psychologists for tips on talking to children about violence.

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