NJ Child Texted Election Day Bomb Threat, Prosecutor Says

NORTH BRUNSWICK, NJ — A North Brunswick child has been arrested after texting an election day bomb threat to a local elementary school, according to Middlesex County Prosecutor Yolanda Ciccone.

Shortly after 8 a.m. Tuesday morning the North Brunswick Police Department began receiving several reports of a bomb threat at Livingston Park Elementary School via text message. Officers cleared the building with the assistance of explosive detection K-9 officers of the Middlesex County Sheriff’s Department.

An investigation by Detective Sean McCorry of the North Brunswick Police Department led to the identification of a juvenile suspect, officials said.

The minor was taken into custody by the North Brunswick Police Department and the electronic devices used in the threat were recovered, police said.

The North Brunswick threat was one of several that peppered polling places throughout the Garden State on Tuesday.

In West Orange, three schools received a bomb threat. Police and local authorities looked into the incident, and the threats have been declared non-credible.

A polling location at one of the schools in the Toms River Regional School District was also reportedly among those targeted by hoax bomb threats.

Two city schools in Paterson that were being used as polling locations saw threats on Tuesday. In Newark, public safety officials said they are analyzing phishing emails with false bomb threats, and said a threat on Gotthard Street was unfounded.

The polling location at Livingston School was relocated in Monmouth County, and the polling station at Avenel Middle School was closed due to a police investigation.

Other similar law enforcement-related incidents were reported in Hackensack, Ridgewood, North Brunswick, Fair Lawn and Lake Como, reports say.

“Make no mistake – we will not tolerate any attempts to interfere with our elections.” That was the reaction from New Jersey’s attorney general after a series of “non-credible” threats were made to polling places across the state on Tuesday.

According to Matthew Platkin, law enforcement responded to threats that were received by email involving several polling places in Bergen, Essex, Mercer, Middlesex, Monmouth, Ocean and Passaic counties.

“Law enforcement officers have responded at each affected polling place, and they have worked swiftly to secure these polling locations and ensure the safety of every voter,” Platkin said.

Contains reporting by Eric Kiefer