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The school went into lockdown early Wednesday afternoon after a piece of paper containing a threat was found in a hallway, Weston Police Chief John Troxell said. Students were later divided to go to either Weston Intermediate School or Weston Middle School before being dismissed at 2 p.m. All after school activities at Weston schools were canceled Wednesday.
“I think we handled it properly under the circumstances,” Troxell said. “We take all threats seriously, but based on what was written in the note, we decided this one was something we had to go a little further with as far as security measures, based on the wording of (the letter).”
Officers and state police dogs swept the school but found no explosives or firearms, he said. The school should hold classes Thursday. Troxell did not elaborate on what was written in the letter or whether it was typed or handwritten.
A juvenile male is a person of interest in the investigation, Troxell said, but he would not say whether the boy is a current Weston High student. “We’re looking down every avenue as to who might have left the note there,” he said.
The day was shocking for many kids, said Oliver Parker, 17, a senior at Weston High, and his sister Ella, 14, a freshman. The siblings returned to campus to get Ella’s backpack. “I was scared,” Ella said. “I had lunch and they just told me to run to the gym locker room, so I didn’t have time to grab my bag.”
“It was a big wakeup call,” Oliver said, noting that many students initially thought about the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School last December in nearby Newtown. The presence of so many officers on campus, however, made him feel safer.
The threat did not have any connection to the recent resignation of former Weston High School boys basketball coach Mike Hvizdo, Troxell said.
Anyone with information on the threat is asked to contact Weston Police Detective Carl Filsinger at 203-222-2639.
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