Arrest Made In Chlorine Gas Threat Hoax Against Suffern High School

SUFFERN, NY — An arrest has been made in the second of back-to-back threat hoaxes called into Suffern High School last week.

A juvenile has been arrested in connection with the one phoned into Suffern High School Friday.

The caller said there was a chlorine gas leak/device at the school, Ramapo police said.

The first use of chlorine gas as a weapon was early in World War I, when it killed more than 1,000 soldiers at Ypres. It reacts with water in the lungs to form hydrochloric acid, which is usually deadly or, if not, causes permanent lung tissue damage and disability. If it doesn't reach the lungs, it can cause vomiting and eye irritation.

No such leak or device turned up in the search.

In addition to the Ramapo Police Department, the Rockland County Sheriff's Department, New York State Police, Orange County Sheriff's Department, Bergen County Sheriff's Department, and the Town of Woodbury Police Department assisted, along with the support of the Tallman Fire Department, Faist Ambulance and Rockland Paramedics.

The Ramapo PD Investigations Division along with the School Resource Officer had been investigating the source of the anonymous phone call. On Tuesday, the police arrested a juvenile and charged them with Falsely Reporting an Incident 1st Degree, a Class D Felony.

Due to the age of the suspect, the case will be heard in the Rockland County Family Court, police said.

As for the bomb threat received Thursday, the Ramapo Police Department is working with federal law enforcement partners on the investigation.

That threat disrupted the school day and resulted in a large-scale specialized response. The school district is fully cooperating with, police said.