A high school in Guiford, Connecticut received a threat against its Jewish students that turned out to be a hoax.
Superintendent Paul Freeman said in a statement that Guiford High School was sent an anonymous report that a student had come to school on Thursday with a gas mask and was threatening to harm Jewish students, NBC Connecticut reported.
On Friday, Guiford Police were informed of the potential threat, and the school’s resource officer and administration began searching through video footage. But by the end of the day, no specific threat was detected, the school district said.
The alleged threatening statements were overheard by students who identified the person behind them. Freeman said that a photo of the individual wearing the gas masks was also given to school officials.
The school district said that after speaking with police they believed all the students were safe and the threat did not exist.
"When students or their parents are privy to information they believe is related to such dangerous or intolerant language or actions, it is incumbent upon those individuals to share that information with our school administrators or the police," Freeman said.
"When specific information is known, those specifics need to be shared; if they are not, it slows and potentially limits the ability of Guilford Public Schools and the Guilford Police to respond to such troubling events.”
Freeman called the incident “disturbing on many levels.”
"Hateful and threatening language is unacceptable in our school community and it places all of us at risk of harm, physically and emotionally,” he said. “No one in our schools should be faced with intimidating or threatening statements of any kind.”