Dumont HS student who threatened to 'shoot up the school' taken into custody, rifle found at home

DUMONT — Local police were expected to increase their presence at the high school on Tuesday, a day after it was put on lockdown and a rifle was found at the home of a student who allegedly threatened a mass shooting there.

Schools Superintendent Emanuele Triggiano said on Monday evening that the student, a 15-year-old sophomore was suspended indefinitely – at least until the Bergen County Prosecutor's Office has fully investigated.

Authorities placed the boy in custody without incident at 1:15 p.m. on Monday, when he was found in a Dumont High School classroom.

Police Chief Michael Conner specified that the boy allegedly threatened to "shoot up the school." He said the gun was found at the home the boy shares with his parents, who were cooperating with authorities. He said he did not know if the weapon was loaded.

"You can never be prepared enough for a situation like this," Triggiano said, adding there are 75 security cameras installed at the high school. "We take all threats like this seriously and feel it was handled very well. It's the type of thing you never want to see in any school."

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The high school, which enrolls about 800 students, went into lockdown about 11:50 a.m. on Monday when police became aware of the threat, the schools chief said.

The lockdown ended about 3:15 p.m. when students seated on bleachers at the high school football field during the incident were brought inside, Triggiano said.

Students then reported to their homerooms where attendance was taken and they were let out for the day about 3:45 p.m., the schools chief said.

Triggiano said a conversation, which included the threatening remark, was overheard between the boy and another student and that it was relayed to police.

Conner said police from at least five jurisdictions were dispatched to the high school, at 101 New Milford Ave., and that the building immediately was put on lockdown.

Officers who appeared dressed for combat, as well as the Bergen County SWAT, later arrived, filling the road and side streets with their flashing vehicles. A helicopter was heard hovering overhead.

Meanwhile, dozens of parents and other relatives of students anxiously watched the scene play out. Some were seen frantically dialing their children's cellphone numbers. Others who could not get through were texting, with tears rolling down their cheeks.

Jacqueline Giacalone, 22, was a senior at the high school when the mass shooting occurred at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, in 2012.

"I was petrified then, so now, I'm really scared," said Giacalone, who was waiting for her brother, Thomas, to emerge safe and sound from the high school on Monday afternoon.

Giacalone said she was on a lunch break from her job as a bank teller in New Milford when she heard about the lockdown. She said she decided to go to the high school, rather than return to the bank.

"It's my brother," Giacalone said. "I don't care if I miss work."

Triggiano said the lockdown was necessary because the high school's lunch period had not ended. And, because the school allows students to leave its campus to eat, authorities did not know if the boy suspected of making the threat even was inside of the building.

After the boy was apprehended, Conner said, authorities cleared students from each room in the high school and escorted them to the gym of the high school where they were briefed on what happened.

Andrew Warta, a 16-year-old junior, said by phone on Monday evening he and about 100 other students were secured in the girls' locker room for 2½ hours. He said he was pulled into the locker room by one of his teachers after using the bathroom and that he thought he was called in there for a drill.

"With everything going on in Florida," Andrew said, referring to the recent school shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, "we really didn't know what was going on."

But, after 20 minutes, he said, he and other students grew concerned. "It's crazy to think about. People never think it's going to happen to them, and then all of the attention is on you."

Triggiano said all extra-curricular activities at the high school were canceled on Monday.

Staff photographer Amy Newman contributed to this article.