CHS principal told parents Tuesday about a "rumor circulating in the school community about a student bringing a gun to school on June 6"
By John Tredrea
Hopewell Township police say there "is not one scintilla of truth to the rumor" that an unidentified Hopewell Valley Central High School student plans to bring a gun to school on June 6, 2006 666, the number many link to the Antichrist.
Police and school officials "are confident that it will be as safe to attend school on June 6 as it is every other school day," Police Chief George Meyer said Wednesday.
"If we believed for one minute that student safety was in jeopardy we would recommend closing the school. We do not believe student safety is at issue, but we will continue investigating and working with school officials on the matter, he said."
In a letter sent home to parents Tuesday, Principal Joseph Mangiaracina said an investigation had found no evidence of any threat, but that it had produced "evidence of false accusations."
"The administration will deal with these false accusations in the same serious manner as we would any other form of harassment," Mr. Mangiaracina said.
When asked Wednesday to elaborate on the matter, the principal said: "This is an ongoing investigation that involves several students," he added Wednesday, noting he was not at liberty to say more.
"The school contacted the Police Department as soon as school administration learned of this rumor," Chief Meyer said Wednesday.
"Detective Ray Pental has been working closely with school officials investigating the threat contained in the rumor a student bringing a gun to school on the 6th intent on doing harm," Chief Meyer said. "Detective Pental has shared the results of his investigation thus far with his supervisors, including myself, and we are all of the opinion that there is not one scintilla of truth to the rumor.
"That being said, the rumor persists. Our investigation and vigilance will continue. Working with school officials we will take necessary measures to ensure the safety of all students everyday at school."
When referring to the date, 6/6/06, the chief mentioned "666," the numbers many link to the Bible’s Book of Revelation 13:18, which says, "Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is six hundred threescore and six."
A May 1 report in the Denver Post said: "With June 6, 2006, rapidly approaching, authorities in Colorado and elsewhere are carefully watching to see if that date 6/6/06 spurs demonstrations or violent activity. They are aware that 666 signifies the Mark of the Beast or the Antichrist to some organizations and believe June 6 is a date that could trigger problems."
In his letter to parents sent home Tuesday, Mr. Mangiaracina said: "Central High School administration is aware of the rumor circulating in the school community about a student bringing a gun to school on June 6. This is to assure you that once these threats became known to the administration, we immediately responded by investigating every tip, every lead, every person connected to these rumors. In addition, all appropriate steps were taken, including consulting with the Hopewell Township Police Department, to interview students, to secure identified areas at risk, and to increase faculty awareness. We wish to be very clear: our ongoing investigations have produced no evidence that such an event is imminent or even being planned."
Mr. Mangiaracina was scheduled to speak directly with students in grades nine, 10, and 11 Wednesday morning to allay the fears or concerns many students have expressed. Seniors will be spoken to Friday during the pre-prom assembly. At these meetings, the principal planned to "reassure students that their school was safe and caution them about the dangers and liabilities of spreading unfounded rumors that could cause mass disruption, even hysteria, in the high school."
School board attorney Robert Martinez said Wednesday morning that the 666 gun rumor "is completely unconnected" to the cases of four Central High School students who have been disciplined for bringing toy guns to school during the past few weeks. The guns they brought were Air-Soft guns, which shoot harmless plastic BBs. Bringing a toy gun to school is prohibited by the district.
After discussing the cases in closed session Monday night, the school board approved plans to readmit the four students to school, provided they admitted bringing the toy guns to school and complied with disciplinary measures. Those measures varied from student to student, Mr. Martinez said, and involved such measures as requirements to do community service and being prohibited from some extracurricular activities for a certain length of time.