PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — A 17-year-old student has been charged with making terroristic threats to Coatesville Area Senior High (CASH) School after the school and others in the district were locked down, evacuated, or closed early multiple times this month including Monday due to false online threats.
The senior, of Valley Township, Chester County, is accused of reporting an anonymous Safe2Say tip on Monday stating that “someone has a boom bag full of glass bottles, THE GLASS BOTTLES ARE FULL OF GAS AND ALCOHOL AND a lot OF TISSUES he said he’s gonna light it off at 12.”
Investigators tracked the IP address of the report to the student at Technical College High School on Boot Road in Downingtown.
Between Sept. 29 and Oct. 17, Chester County officials said the Safe2Say app received 14 threats to CASH, causing the school to go on lockdown, evacuate, or cancel classes and recreational activities including the homecoming football game. Police said all of the threats, varying from bomb threats to guns on campus, were false reports.
Related
Authorities are still investigating the sources of the other threats.
The student is charged with multiple felonies, including terroristic threats and criminal use of a communication facility.
“We hope this arrest sends a clear message that anyone responsible for making these threats will face serious consequences, both by the judicial system and, if they are a student, our school system,” interim Coatesville Area School District Superintendent Dr. Rick Dunlap said in a statement.
Related
“Threats of violence against schools — especially in this day and age — will never be tolerated,” added Chester County District Attorney Deb Ryan. “My office is determined to ensure the safety of students when they go to school every day.”
Anyone with information is asked to contact Chester County Detectives at 610-344-6866.