Since the start of the school year, an uptick in school-targeted threats has been investigated by law enforcement across New York state.
One central New York juvenile is facing charges after making a threat toward Madison-Oneida BOCES last week. But the threat is not unique. Oneida County Sheriff's Lieutenant Carey Phare said schools across New York are seeing more threatening messages.
"It's definitely an increased amount," Phare said. "Toward the beginning of the school year, it's not this typical."
Phare said threats do tend to increase in the wake of any national events and the shooting at Georgia's Apalachee High School earlier this month may be a reason for the increase. He says while every threat may not be credible, local law enforcement does not take any chances.
"We do take everything that comes in, every post that comes in, every possible threat, whether it's vague, whether it's direct, whatever it could be, whenever it comes in we take those seriously," Phare said. "We investigate until we can make sure that we're comfortable, that everything is fine and copasetic, that there's no problems."
Phare said the Sheriff's Department encourages parents to speak with their children about what to do if they see or hear anything. He said speaking with a parent, school official, or law enforcement officer - without spreading it to other students - is the best thing to do.
