City Teen Arrested For Posting Death Threats Against Students On Facebook

News release from Bridgeport Police Department spokesman Bill Kaempffer:

A 16-year-old youth was taken into custody late Wednesday night after posting threatening statements on his Facebook Page. The youth, a student at Central High School, made statements that he would kill fellow students and that he was serious.

The posting was brought to the attention of School Resource Officers and parents. Detectives assigned to the Police Department’s Youth Bureau immediately prepared a search warrant for the youth’s residence, seeking the youth and any possible weapons.

Shortly before 10 p.m. members of the department’s Emergency Services Unit, accompanied by Youth Bureau, Detective Bureau and School Resource Officers, executed the search warrant at the youth’s residence, according to Capt. James Viadero, the head of detectives. The youth was taken into custody without incident.

No weapons were found at the location as a result of the search. The youth was charged with first-degree threatening and will appear in Juvenile Court for the offense. No other students were involved in the incident. His name is not being released because of his age.

“We took immediate action as soon as we learned about these online threats,” said Police Chief Joseph L. Gaudett Jr. “We take our duty to keep our children safe in school very seriously and I’m grateful for the fast actions of our officers and detectives.”

Superintendent of School Paul Vallas added: “Student safety is our highest priority and we take all potential threats very seriously. I am very grateful that with the consolidation of school security and city police we are now able to respond aggressively and appropriately to keep our students safe in situations such as this and offer my sincere thanks to the city police for their quick and effective response.”