GRANBY — Online threats of violence made by a 14-year-old Granby Junior Senior High School student arrested last week prompted parents to raise concerns about safety at a School Committee meeting Monday night.
“Parents are understandably concerned about the fact that something like this can happen in our small town,” School Committee Chairman Emre Evren said. “They’re asking what is being done and what are the safeguards around it.”
Superintendent Sheryl Stanton said the school already offers two violence prevention and emergency preparedness programs. The ALICE (Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter, Evacuate) training program was implemented this year in collaboration with the Granby Police to train students, faculty and police on what to do in case of a school shooting or other emergency.
A youth violence prevention program called PeaceBuilders was implemented two years ago to meet a state anti-bullying mandate, and teaches students personal responsibility while fostering a sense of community in the classroom.
“We truly believe that all of the children in Granby Public Schools are ours, and it is our responsibility to support them in whatever needs they present,” Stanton said. “We cannot point fingers or blame students or their environments.”
Police Chief Alan Wishart said the department monitors security cameras installed at the school and always has one school resource officer on the premises during school hours. A new door is being installed in the high school, he said, and the police will have an increased presence at the school for the next week.
“Between the school and police department we take these situations very seriously,” Wishart said. “One of the biggest pieces of these types of issues is just the public awareness and people knowing that when you see something to say something.”
Wishart added that there are no metal detectors in the school building, at 385 East State St.
Evren said the school stresses the importance of collaboration among students, parents, faculty and law enforcement to recognize threats to safety. Because efficient channels of communication exist between the school and police department, according to Evren, response to the threat was prompt and thorough.
“The way it happened is, some student through social media saw the threat and then they alerted their parents, who immediately told school administration, who immediately called the police,” Evren said.
On Feb. 20, the school received a report that the student, a Granby resident, made threats to a classmate online over social media and posted a picture of three handguns on a kitchen counter. The school reported the tip to the Granby Police. Police investigated and confiscated three pellet guns from the student’s home, according to a joint press release from the Granby police and school departments.
“The investigation continued and it was determined the juvenile later made threats against people who he believed reported the incident,” read the Feb. 24 press release. “None of the incidents mentioned in the press release occurred on school grounds and there is no reason to believe any of the weapons were on the school campus.”
On Feb. 22, the same student made threats online to “shoot up the school,” prompting Granby Police to issue a warrant and arrest the student on Feb. 23.
The student was arraigned in Hampshire Juvenile Court in Hadley and will be held until a dangerousness hearing this week. The incident is still under investigation, according to Wishart.
“We will always take those concerns seriously and deal with them individually and accordingly,” Wishart said.
The school is offering increased availability of in-house support for students who may feel uncomfortable. The school resource officer will be available at the school all this week, as well as additional school support staff, for any students and faculty in need of assistance or support.
Anyone with concerns is welcome to attend the next School Committee meeting Monday at 6:30 p.m. in the high school library.
Sarah Robertson can be reached at srobertson@gazettenet.coms