Mayor Domenic Sarno discusses the rash of hoax threats against Springfield public schools while Police Superintendent Lawrence Akers and Superintendent of Schools Sonia Dinnall listen at an Oct. 3 press conference at City Hall.
Reminder Publishing photo by Chris Maza
SPRINGFIELD — Following two more in a recent spate of phony threats and reports of violence against Springfield public schools, officials met with the media on Oct. 3 to declare their new zero tolerance approach to those behind those hoaxes.
Two mid-week incidents on Oct. 2 and 3 brought the total number of threats made against schools during the 2024-25 academic year to 14. Springfield police have ruled all of these to be hoaxes and Springfield Public Schools Director of Safety and Security Adam Fenn reported there is no pattern of a specific school being targeted. However, Mayor Domenic Sarno said the sheer number of the incidents in the first 28 days of school compelled public safety and school heads to join him in sending a message.
“Everyone has the right to feel safe and every time these threats are made, that safety is eroded, threatened and impacted in a negative way. We just don’t tolerate that; we can’t tolerate that. It’s not fair to the students and the staff and the family members who trust us to educate their children,” Springfield Public Schools Superintendent Sonia Dinnall said. “We want to be sure that we’re sending a clear, united message that we’re not going to put up with it.”
Police Superintendent Lawrence Akers said a 14-year-old was arrested in connection with a debunked bomb threat made against Chestnut Middle School on Facebook in the early hours of Oct 3. The day prior, a 9-year-old student allegedly stole a staff member’s phone at Springfield Public Day Elementary School and called police, falsely stating there was an active shooter in the building.
The Oct. 3 incident was the first resulting in an arrest, though criminal complaints had been pursued in other instances.
“Usually we don’t arrest our children. We try not to arrest our children,” Akers said. “But since the beginning of the school year, we’ve investigated [14] hoax threats involving guns or, in this morning’s case, a bomb. So, moving forward we’re going to have a zero tolerance policy on this. We want everyone out there to know — every issue is not a police issue, until a crime is committed or public safety is threatened and this is certainly threating public safety and committing a crime.”
Dinnall added the department utilizes a “restorative justice” model through which students who caused the unrest would be responsible for “restoring the harm that they have caused.” Citing policy that prohibits discussing specific student discipline, she did not comment further on what actions would be taken.
“Each and every student will be held accountable, has been held accountable for the harm they have caused to the learning environment as well as to the sense of safety and well being that every student and parent and staff and family member has the right to feel in school,” she said.
Regarding the threat on Chestnut Middle School, Akers said Facebook contacted Springfield dispatch at approximately 2 a.m. to inform them of a social media post suggesting the potential of a bomb at the school. The police’s Real-Time Analysis Center identified a potential suspect within 20 minutes of the report and their identity was verified by 3:20 a.m. Meanwhile, city public safety and School Department security personnel were dispatched and determined there was no threat. The teen suspect was arrested at approximately 9:40 a.m.
While the situation was handled swiftly, Akers described the disruption of transportation, the level of fear at the school and the number of concerned calls received from staff and students’ families alike.
“It was in a bad way this morning,” he said. “We can’t have our students not going to school.”
Asked whether social media companies regularly coordinate with police and make them aware of potential threats, Akers said they have in the past, but stressed they do not wish to be agents of law enforcement. Sarno, however, encouraged companies to be more proactive in working with law enforcement to prevent tragedies.
In the case of the Springfield Public Day Elementary School incident, police were able to access the live feed from cameras inside the school to immediately determine that there was no imminent danger to students and staff, according to Akers. The police are able to access school security cameras in live time in accordance with a memorandum of understanding between the Police and School departments. During normal operations, School Department security personnel monitors the cameras.
“I’d like to emphasize that I know there’s differences of opinions on the school cameras — when we can use them, what we’re going to be using them for — but this was one of those cases that we were able to utilize those cameras to make sure that we were in there, before we sent officers in there, to see that there was no crime, which absolutely changed the direction of our investigation,” Akers said. “It was very helpful to us to be able to look in that school to make sure there was no harm being done while we were on the way there.”
Because of the age of the student involved in that case, no arrest or charges were made and the issue was handed over to the School Department, Akers said. However, officials, including Sarno, stressed that law enforcement would also be pursuing possible criminal charges against parents or guardians of offending children in the future, depending on the circumstances.
Akers was among those who encouraged parents to be proactive to prevent the need for any arrests.
“I ask the parents to step up. I ask everyone involved with these students to step up. Check and see what they’re sending on their [social media] because we do not want to arrest our children, but we also cannot have what happened this morning where school transportation, our school teachers and staff are so afraid to go to school because of these hoaxes that it disrupts our whole school system,” he said. “That can’t be tolerated, we will not tolerate it. So please, parents and whoever is involved with these children out here, sit them down, talk to them. Because the last thing I want to do is to watch anyone under my command put handcuffs on a child.”
Akers and Fenn acknowledged that they had heard criticism that school was not canceled at Chestnut Middle School following the threat. They assured the public that school continued as scheduled because they were confident that students and staff were not in any danger. Had there been a legitimate threat, they said, appropriate action would have been taken.
“If you’re allowed to go into that school parking lot and you’re allowed to drop those children off, you can rest assured we’ve already handled the situation,” Akers said.
“The response is so swift,” Dinnall added. “It’s like if you throw a rock up in the air, before it hits the ground, Adam Fenn, the city, the police, they’re on it. There’s a tight, tight communication protocol.”
Dinnall also stressed that the communication with all concerned parties when these incidents have arisen has been a priority and expedient.
“They received this information long before the press and long before the public,” she said. “Our internal communication protocols dictate that we communicate with the city, first and foremost, and then the School Committee, and then internally to our staff. [School Department Chief Communications Officer] Azell Cavaan and Adam Fenn work very closely together to ensure that all communication is swift, immediate, accurate and we most definitely ensure that our principals and staff know long before the public.”
