Police investigate ‘alarming' social media threat against Glastonbury High School

Police are investigating a social media threat against Glastonbury High School.

Glastonbury school superintendent Alan Bookman sent an email to parents on Friday about the social media post threatening violence at the school.

"…we are reaching out to all families and staff in the district because the post was both highly offensive and greatly alarming to our school community," Bookman said in the email.

He said he is limited in what he can say about the threat and the ongoing police investigation.

According to Bookman, police have identified the Glastonbury High School student responsible for the post and as of Friday, that student is no longer enrolled in Glastonbury Public Schools.

The student is no longer allowed at any school events or to be on any school campus, he said.

Glastonbury police told NBC Connecticut they could not comment on the ongoing investigation.

The superintendent said he is limited in what he can say about the threat and the ongoing police investigation, but added:

"There is no place in our school community for hate, racism, or violence. This disturbing incident is a reminder to all of the importance of our work to provide safe, inclusive, and supportive learning environments where all students feel respected and valued."

Veronica Castro was at a loss for words when Glastonbury police called her about a threat towards her daughter this week. She says the violent threats named her daughter and other students as a target at the high school, all of them either black or bi-racial. Castro says the initial communication from the school principal was vague.

“We bring our kids to Glastonbury because that's a good education. We want to provide them good education, but we want them to be safe.,” she said.

The news also caught the attention of Bobbi and Keith Bowles. Their daughter is a student at the high school, too. They say she wasn’t named as a target of the threats, but Bobbi still made a post on social media highlighting the issue. The post gained traction from other parents.

“The parents were scared and just tired of it and glad somebody finally spoke out,” Bobbi Bowles said.

Keith Bowles believes that student responsible needs to be held accountable, but should also be given a chance to learn from their mistake.

“You can still do better in life. You can still be a better human being. This isn’t the end all be all,” he said.

Bobbi Bowles says she’d like to see the high school make an effort to have students understand tolerance and respect.

“Group activities so people can really get to know each other, working one on one with different ethnicities,” she said.

Castro hopes the district can provide greater clarity in the future to give parents like her peace of mind if any threats to students are made.

“As a parent, I deserve to know exactly what was said about my child, what exactly what the threat was, without exposing the minor course, but you can tell me the details,” she said.

The Greater Hartford NAACP is calling the threats unacceptable and says they’ll be following up with town leaders.

It’s expected to be brought up during a town council meeting on Tuesday.