Passaic Co. Student Threatened School Shooting, Bombing Multiple Times: Police

CLIFTON, NJ — A 17-year-old student has been charged with making multiple "very detailed" threats against Clifton High School, officials said.

Between Jan. 27 and Jan. 29, the school received at least four separate threats of bombs, school shootings, and targeted violence against students and teachers, according to Clifton PD. The threats came in electronically, and were sent to various people, police said.

"These incidents led to the activation of numerous security measures, temporary disruptions to the school day, modifications of scheduled events, large-scale responses from law enforcement, and many hours of collaboration with school administrators and our law enforcement partners," police said.

All the threats were deemed not credible, despite how specific they were, said Clifton Schools Superintendent Dr. Danny A. Robertozzi.

After launching an investigation, police identified the unnamed student as being responsible for the threats.

Clifton Police say they arrested the teen at the school Feb. 3, and he is temporarily detained at the Essex County Detention Center. He was charged as a juvenile with 14 counts of terroristic threats and six counts of false public alarm.

Officials expect to file more charges against the student, as they say he may have been involved in making similar threats last year.

"We recognize that the act of creating false public alarms disrupts the educational process and take these actions very seriously," Robertozzi said. "We fully support the Clifton Police Department’s pursuit of holding the individual accountable. The physical and emotional safety of our students and staff remains our top priority."

Robertozzi added that the school community can report any threats via the district's Say Something Anonymous Reporting System.