Four Arrested In Threats At Jarvis Middle School
UPDATED 3:56 P.M. - The lockout at Jarvis Middle School in Mohawk has been lifted and students have been dismissed from school.
Mohawk Police say a total of four students has been arrested for making a terroristic threat. The school was put on lockout twice today after receiving two separate threats.
Police say a juvenile was arrested today for an earlier threat and another was arrested last night in connection with Monday's incident that caused Jarvis to be put on lockdown.
Due to the suspects' ages, police say their names will not be released.
UPDATED 3:12 p.m.- Jarvis Middle School in Mohawk is once again under a lockout.
Mohawk Police say a written threat was received after this morning's incident, which led to a lockout that was eventually lifted.
Police say no one will be allowed to enter or leave the building until they find the person responsible.
UPDATED 1:46 p.m - Mohawk Police say a juvenile from yesterday's incident was arrested last night and another is in custody for today's threat.
Police say they'll be charged with making a Terroristic Threat.
Due to the suspects being juveniles, police will not be releasing their names.
UPDATE: 11:44a.m - WIBX has learned the lockout at Gregory Jarvis Middle School in Mohawk has ended, and that all students and staff are safe. An alert message sent to parents and staff late Tuesday morning indicated that police had identified the source of the threat, dismissal times and after school activities would go on as normally planned. We'll update with information as it comes to us...
The Central Valley School District update it's Facebook page at 11:32 Tuesday morning with the following:
The shelter-in-place and lockout at Jarvis Middle School has ended. Police identified the source of the threat and have determined the building, students and staff are safe. Those involved are facing legal action.
Jarvis will dismiss at its normal time. After school activities will take place as scheduled.
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For the second consecutive day, law enforcement responded to Gregory Jarvis Middle School in Mohawk regarding a threat made against the school. Just before 9:00 a.m. Tuesday morning, WIBX reported the school was under a shelter-in-place and lockout and authorities investigated a threat.
On Monday, Jarvis was one of apparently three-separate threats involving schools in the Mohawk Valley - the other two being the Camden School District and Utica College.
The Central Valley School District has released a statement concerning the events at Jarvis Middle School:
Over the past two days, Jarvis Middle School experienced four separate threats against the school.
On the morning of Monday, Mar. 5, a student reported a threat that prompted a school lockdown. On the morning of Tuesday, Mar. 6, students reported two separate threats. In the afternoon of Tuesday, Mar. 6, a student reported a threat. Tuesday's threats resulted in a shelter-in-place and lockout in the morning and a second shelter-in-place and lockout at dismissal time.
In each case, law enforcement investigated and successfully identified the students responsible. They determined none of the threats were credible and the school's students and staff were safe.
Members of the Mohawk, Ilion, and Herkimer police departments, the New York State Police, and State Police K-9 units worked together to bring the investigations to successful ends.
Those involved are all middle school students. They have been referred to the courts.
"We will seek the appropriate consequences in these cases, but consequences alone will not solve the problem," said Central Valley School Superintendent Jeremy Rich.
"Equally important, we need to reach these students before this happens. We need to ramp up the proactive measures we currently take, including mental health awareness, counseling, and building healthy relationships to address students who may be drawn to this kind of behavior."
He credited school staff working with authorities to uncovering the truth in each case.
"Our teachers and counselors invest themselves daily in our students' lives, building relationships and trust. Those relationships are a big reason we close out this day, knowing our kids are safe," he said.