Counseling is being made available at Fairfield schools Monday after at least three of the town’s 17 public schools received phone calls from someone threatening violence with guns or pipe bombs on Friday.
All public schools were placed in lockdown for around two hours, and some private and parochial schools went into some level of secure mode as well.
"I am writing to thank you for your cooperation today as we dealt with multiple potential threats to our schools and the resulting lockdown and early dismissal. School personnel, working in conjunction with police and fire department personnel, ensured that our students and staff were secure throughout the day. Although we practice and drill for emergency events such as today’s, it can be unnerving for both students and staff when such events occur unexpectedly," Fairfield Superintendent David G. Title wrote to district families on Friday. "As a resource, we have posted on our home page some tips for parents. In addition, should any student need assistance on Monday, we will have counseling staff available. If you believe that your child may be in need of assistance on Monday, please contact the school and let the teacher or principal know of your concerns, and we will ensure that your child receives appropriate support."
Title reminded parents to update notification preferences on the school's Infinite Campus system, which he said is the district's primary way of communication with families about emergencies. Police told school leaders that all Fairfield schools were "safe and ready to open as of Saturday morning," Title said.
On Friday, Fairfield police went on alert around 9 a.m. when a man called them claiming to be at a home on Black Rock Turnpike and said he had killed his girlfriend, was holding a hostage and was in possession of guns and pipe bombs.
Officers responded, shut down the street, checked all the houses and determined there was no such address, according to police.
Then, Fairfield schools started receiving gun- and bomb-threat phone calls.
"(We) don't know if the Black Rock Turnpike thing is used as a diversion, or whether it was just in fact part of the plan," said Fairfield police spokesman Lt. James Perez. "But I will tell you that we, as law enforcement officers, take all of these calls extremely seriously because we have to."
Holland Hill Elementary School received a call saying a man was coming down with an M-16, according to police. A threatening call placed to Roger Ludlowe High School claimed there was a bomb in the school, and Fairfield Warde High School received a call reporting pipe bombs scattered throughout the building.
One or two additional schools may have received threats as well, police said.
Local
As they faced the challenge of sweeping 17 schools to ensure the safety of everyone inside, local police received assistance from officers from Westport, Trumbull, Newtown, Easton and Bridgeport as they responded and searched each school Friday morning.
Gov. Dannel Malloy said Friday morning he had been in contact with authorities in Fairfield. His office was monitoring the situation and state resources from several agencies were on standby, Malloy said.
Fairfield Sen. Tony Hwang (R-28) said after Friday's incident that he plans to re-introduce school safety legislation "to set a new standard on how states can respond to the growing rate of threats of violence against schools," his office said in a news release. He had spearheaded the Zero-Tolerance Safe School Environment Act bill, which passed unanimously in the state senate, but wasn't voted on at the House of Representatives level, his office said. The bill called for stiffer penalties in the state's threatening statutes.
“Our message must be heard loud and clear: Connecticut does not tolerate threats of violence against our schools,” Hwang said in a written statement. “And if someone does commit such a despicable act, they will face severe penalties that bring the punishment more in line with the crime. Today’s threats in Fairfield reinforce the need to strengthen our laws in this area.”
By late morning, school officials decided to release students from the public schools on an early dismissal schedule, beginning at 11:45 a.m.
As police continue to investigate, they are asking anyone with information about any of the calls to reach out to police and call 203-254-4840.
