Teen arrested after mass shooting threat naming Sequoya High School, Suffolk DA says
Sequoya High School in Holtsville was immediately locked down last week after the threat, authorities said. Credit: Newsday/Steve Pfost
A Centereach teen has been arrested and charged with sending an anonymous email threatening to “shoot up” Sequoya High School in Holtsville, Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond Tierney said Wednesday.
The 17-year-old male allegedly emailed the mass-shooting threat to high school administrators on Dec. 13, warning them to be prepared for bloodshed, Tierney said in a statement.
The district attorney’s office did not identify him.
The school, which is in the Eastern Suffolk BOCES school district, was immediately locked down and an investigation by the Suffolk County Police Department and district attorney’s office was launched, Tierney said. Authorities traced the email to a residence in Centereach, he said.
Suffolk police officers responded to the residence Saturday and the teen admitted to sending the threat, saying, “I can’t believe you guys found out it was me,” the statement said.
The teen was arrested and charged with making a threat of mass harm, a misdemeanor. Because of his age, he was referred to Family Court for further adjudication, Tierney said.
A search of the residence confirmed there were no firearms or weapons in the teen’s possession, Tierney said.
“Anyone thinking of sending an anonymous threat should be forewarned that with the technological abilities of the detectives from my office and the Suffolk County Police Department, we will find you and arrest you,” Tierney said in the statement.
He added, “Unfortunately, under current state law, a mass shooting threat such as this cannot be prosecuted by my office and, as such, this juvenile will be referred to Family Court.”
A day after the alleged threat was made, Eastern Suffolk BOCES Superintendent David Wicks said in a statement that “We immediately followed our security and safety protocol and put the building on lockout and contacted law enforcement.
“Following an initial investigation by Suffolk County Police that determined there was no credible threat, the lockout was lifted and regularly scheduled activities resumed.”
Wicks’ statement said a law enforcement investigation identified the teen as a student. It did not say whether the teen attended the school.
CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story detailed a separate incident involving Sequoya High School in which a 14-year-old Medford student was charged with threatening LGBTQ students, according to police. That incident happened last December.
Craig Schneider is a Long Island native and Stony Brook University alumnus. He joined Newsday as a general assignment reporter in January 2018 after 20 years at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
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