Student Charged In Bomb Threat That Shut Down BCCC

NEWTOWN, PA — A 20-year-old Doylestown woman is facing felony charges in connection with a bomb threat that closed down Bucks County Community College for a day last week.

Sarah Elizabeth Squitieri is charged with threats to use weapons of mass destruction charges, a 3rd degree felony, after police said she submitted a tip indicating acts of violence were planned at the Bucks County Community College campus in Newtown.

Newtown Township Police said they received a tip on Sept. 25 from the then-anonymous person later identified as Squitieri that said a person named "Karl" sent a group text that he planned to "commit acts of violence including the use of firearms and explosive devices," at the community college the next day.

Newtown Township Police notified college security, and the college cancelled classes and closed their Newtown Township campus on Sept. 26.

Soon after, police were able to identify the tipster as Squitieri, a Bucks County Community College student.

However, during the course of the investigation, Squitieri provided details that contradicted the information that she had provided through the anonymous tip.

"Through additional investigation including interviews, video footage, and telephone records, detectives were able to determine that Squitieri had provided false and misleading information concerning the alleged threat and that there was no credible threat to the community college," police said in a statement.

RELATED: Threat Against BCCC Deemed Not Credible, Campus Reopens

An arrest warrant was issued for Squitieri on Thursday, Oct. 4. That evening, she was taken into custody at her Doylestown Township residence without incident. She was arraigned and sent to the Bucks County Correctional Facility in lieu of $100,000 (10 percent) bail.

The following bail conditions were set:

• Upon Squitieri’s release from the correctional facility, she is to be confined to her residence with the use of a GPS ankle monitoring bracelet.
• She is not to possess any firearms.
• She is not to be within 100 yards of the Bucks County Community College and is not to have contact with the Bucks County Community College.

Her preliminary hearing is scheduled for Oct. 15, court records show.

Bucks County Community College Security, Bucks County Department of Emergency Communications, Bucks County District Attorney’s Office, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Doylestown Township Police assisted in the investigation.