WORCESTER — Two ninth-grade students were in custody Wednesday after a report of an Instagram post that contained a threat of committing a shooting at Worcester Technical High School.
Robert Pezzella, school safety director for the Worcester School Department, said that one ninth-grade student at Worcester Tech sent another student a message Tuesday that they were displeased with a Worcester Tech employee and threatened to commit a shooting unless something went their way.
After receiving the message, Pezzella said the second student posted the message on Instagram with a caption that students should know about an impending shooting. According to Pezzella, the investigation into the threat found that the second student did not post the message on Instagram with the intent of warning the community.
Worcester Tech received a report of the threatening post Wednesday morning and contacted Pezzella, who initiated a threat protocol and notified police.
School employees received an email informing them about the threat and that police were notified Wednesday morning from acting Principal Siobhan Petrella. Parents were notified via ConnectEd.
Pezzella said both students will be summoned to court for threatening a shooting and causing a disturbance. They will also receive disciplinary action at school. He said Worcester School Department has a “zero-tolerance policy” for threats that put fear into students, school staff and parents, specifically mentioning the tense climate at schools following the Nov. 30 school shooting at Oxford Township in Michigan.
Worcester is planning to move forward with a new school safety plan following the City Council’s 6-5 vote in March to remove school resource officers from schools.
The plan was presented to the City Council on Tuesday and will also be brought to the School Committee Thursday. The plan will not have police school resource officers stationed at schools but will have school liaison officers assigned to four quadrants.
