BRADFORD, Vt. — Police cited a 17-year-old Thetford resident on a charge of disorderly conduct by electronic means after a student at Oxbow High School received an online threat Monday.
Toward the end of the school day on Monday, an Oxbow High School staff member contacted police alleging that someone had threatened to shoot up the school.
This threat, which police later found not to be credible, came as a result of a dispute between two 17-year-old girls, said Sgt. David Shaffer of the Bradford Police Department.
“It was just kind of a wayward comment that shouldn’t have been made,” Shaffer said Tuesday by phone.
The two teenagers had been in an online dispute that began days prior. While Shaffer declined to detail the cause, the disagreement itself was not a concern to police and there was no physical altercation. The two people involved in the dispute did not know each other personally, but had acquaintances in common.
An Oxbow student was in the bathroom on a Facetime call with the Thetford juvenile, who is not an Oxbow student. On the phone, the Thetford juvenile allegedly said she was going to “shoot up” Oxbow High School, directing the claim toward a second Oxbow student who was also in the bathroom.
A student overheard the threat and reported it to the staff member, who then contacted Bradford Police.
Bradford Police and Vermont State Police arrived at the high school, located at 36 Oxbow Drive in Bradford, around 2 p.m.
“School was just minutes away from getting out,” said Shaffer, referring to the 2:25 p.m. release time.
Police found that the threat was directed toward the individual student, as opposed to the school in general, and was also baseless.
“Pretty quickly during the interview process, it was determined that this was more of a personal thing rather than a schoolwide threat,” said Shaffer.
Orange East Supervisory Union is “committed to safe and healthy schools where all students can access equitable and meaningful learning experiences without fear,” Orange East Superintendent Heather Lawler said Tuesday when reached by phone.
Bradford police issued a citation to the Thetford juvenile for disorderly conduct by electronic means. A family court hearing will be held in May to determine future action.
Oxbow is holding a community forum on changes to phone procedures for students and parents at 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday, March 18 in the high school library.