Those caught threatening CT schools can face severe punishments

HARTFORD, Conn. (WFSB) – School threats continue to disrupt school days around the state.

In Ansonia, school was canceled after a 13-year-old girl admitted to making an online threat.

Police also responded to Norwich Free Academy after reports of a student bringing in a weapon.

Following a search, things went back to normal for students and faculty.

School officials in Coventry also reached out to parents, after students spoke about weapons at the middle school.

In all instances, no one was hurt.

According to I-Team records, at least 24 schools have dealt with threats since the last week of August. Although many of the threats have been unfounded, seven resulted in arrests.

“I think the kids certainly need to understand that these are serious crimes,” says William Carbone, an expert in juvenile justice, and a professor at University of New Haven.

He says parents need to start having conversations with these children about the issue.

“Parents have a distinct responsibility to make it clear to their kids that this is something they need to be mindful of and cannot engage in,” says Carbone. “I think to some extent, there’s a bit of copycatting going on as well among kids. They hear about it and social media of course has enabled this thing.”

Parents could even face charges if they know their child is making threats and have been negligent in stopping them.

If someone is caught, the penalties are severe.

They were made even more severe a few years back, in a law passed by the legislature, championed by Senator Tony Hwang of Fairfield County, led by parents in Newtown.

“It was an almost a two-and-a-half year saga (to get this passed) that was initiated by parents of the Saint Rosa Lima school in Sandy Hook in Newtown,” says Senator Tony Hwang, “What we saw from the parents were the traumatic effect that these kind of school threats made to the school and really how much trauma and turmoil it had on children going to school in the aftermath of Sandy Hook.”

Those found to threaten schools, churches, and other protected spaces, can now be charged with felony counts of threatening, and face up to ten years in penalties.

“Many of these kinds of actions are done by children. Young adults who have not been made aware of the devastating impact as a prank, but there are also people with ill intent, intent to cause trauma and terror in our community. This is not a prank. This is not a funny joke,” says Senator Hwang. “We will catch you and you will be punished.”