STOUGHTON — Chief Donna M. McNamara and Stoughton Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Thomas Raab report that the Stoughton Police Department is actively investigating the source of a threatening image that was AirDropped to multiple students at Stoughton High School Thursday morning.
Police have determined that the threat was not credible and there is no danger to the public.
At 8:26 a.m. today, Stoughton Police were notified by school officials that multiple students at Stoughton High School had received AirDropped photos of explosive devices from an unknown individual. The school was holding an assembly at the time.
Stoughton Police immediately responded to the school. School resource officers and Stoughton Police officers assisted with evacuating students and staff to the nearby O’Donnell Middle School.
Pearl Street was closed during the duration of the investigation and traffic was detoured. The road has since been reopened.
After arriving on scene, police determined that the photo was a generic online image and makes no specific reference to Stoughton High School. The Massachusetts State Police Bomb Squad, area K-9 units and Stoughton Fire Department responded to the high school to complete a sweep of the building out of an abundance of caution.
Police determined that the school was safe at approximately 10:57 a.m. The school has a previously scheduled early dismissal today and the district is in contact with families about dismissal operations.
It is important to stress that all students and staff remained safe during this incident. SHS students and staff should be commended for the calm and orderly evacuation to the middle school. We also thank the O’Donnell Middle School community for being able to seamlessly welcome our high school students. The food services staff was able to provide lunch for both SHS and OMS students. Prior to their return to the high school, Chief McNamara addressed the SHS students to provide a brief update on the situation.
It is due to the great collaboration between the School Department and Police Department that we were able to evacuate 1,200 students and staff, provided lunch for more than 2,000 students, and returned safely to the high school for dismissal.
The incident remains under investigation by both the Stoughton Police Department and Stoughton Public Schools.