AMHERST, N.Y.-- The Superintendent of the Sweet Home Central School District says the Amherst Police have identified a suspect following a threat posted on a students Facebook pages Monday morning.
Detectives say the suspect is a 13-year-old male who attends Sweet Home Middle School, but would not identify him.
Police officials say a middle school student's Facebook page was illegally accessed this weekend with a threat that a student was going to bring a weapon and use it on others at school. As a result, there was a large presence of police at both Sweet Home Middle School and High School Monday morning following a threat posted on Facebook.
They say the posting does not appear to be a credible threat.
Superintendent Anthony J. Day posted the following on the school district's web page Monday evening:
"District officials were informed this evening by Amherst Police officials that they have identified a suspect in last night's Facebook incident. The suspect will be arrested and brought to Family Court later this week. The individual faces a Superintendent's Hearing and school based disciplinary charges as well. Police officials notified us that the individual in question acted alone, had no access to weapons and never planned any actual threatening action. The District will continue to collaborate with police officials as the investigation continues and the Middle School will resume normal operations Tuesday morning."
Amherst Police Captain Stephen McGonagle told 2 On Your Side early Monday, "We are taking every precaution, working with school officials to ensure the safety of the kids." He also said that if the person is caught, he or she will be arrested and prosecuted. The charges could include criminal impersonation, unauthorized use of a computer or computer trespass, according to the police Captain.
Word quickly spread through Facebook about the threat prompting some parents to call police and others to keep their children home from school on Monday.
The following is the original statement released by Sweet Home Superintendent Anthony Day on the school's website Monday morning:
"Last night, school and police officials identified an unauthorized posting- or "hacking" - onto a Middle School student's Facebook page. The post made reference to a student bringing a weapon to school and using it on others. Word of the post quickly spread and has created considerable fear and anxiety amongst our school community.
The Amherst Police have identified and interviewed several students named in the post and their families. They believe that these students have no knowledge or involvement in this situation.
At this time, we do not believe the threat is credible but we will be taking additional precautions this morning anyways. We will have extra police presence on our Middle School campus this morning. Our staff will be informed and remain vigilant throughout the day. We will also conduct a search of all Middle School students' book bags as they enter the building to ensure that no weapon comes through our doors.
School will be open this morning and safe for our kids. We are working closely with the Amherst police to take those steps we feel are necessary to protect the welfare of our students. Successfully investigating instances of Facebook "hacking" is difficult but we are committed to cooperating with law enforcement to identify the guilty party and prosecute that person to the fullest extent of the law."