Police probe threat against Schenectady schools

The Schenectady Police Department is investigating two school threats made Wednesday on social media.

One of the threats was posted about an unspecified school on the Schenectady City School District’s Facebook page, and another threat was posted on an unidentified Instagram page.

All Schenectady schools were placed in a lockout as a precautionary measure at about 10:20 a.m., according to a news release from the school district.

The lockout was lifted for all schools at 11:15 a.m., except for Zoller Elementary. The lockout there remained in effect until 2 p.m., and students were dismissed at their normal time of 2:45, according to district spokesperson Karen Corona.

Police have not released details of the Facebook threat; the Instagram threat might be against Lincoln Elementary School in the city, they said.

“The potential is it could be a mass thing that could have been sent anywhere,” Schenectady police Sgt. Matt Dearing said of the Instagram threat. “But we consider any threat against a school as a credible threat and take it very seriously.”

Corona said Schenectady schools will operate as normal on Thursday as the investigation continues.

On Wednesday, Schenectady police said that around 10 a.m., the department and the school district were made aware of the Instagram threat, which appears to have been posted at 11 p.m. Tuesday.

That threat, posted by a reader to The Daily Gazette’s Facebook page Wednesday morning after he saw it on Instagram, did not specify Lincoln School in Schenectady.

The Gazette hid the post as police continued their investigation.

Dearing said neighboring school districts were alerted of the first threat, and in response Niskayuna Central School District had a temporary lockout. That lockout was lifted around 11:30 a.m.

Notre Dame-Bishop Gibbons, a private school, was in a lockdown after the initial threat was made to Schenectady’s public schools.

The private school lifted its lockdown after the Schenectady Police Department advised there was no threat, according to an email sent to faculty, staff and families.

Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake schools also were in a precautionary lockout, “out of an abundance of caution,” a district spokesperson said. The lockout there later was lifted.

Reach Gazette reporter Haley Viccaro at 395-3114, [email protected] or @HRViccaro on Twitter.

Categories: News, Schenectady County