Up to six police officers were staioned at the high school throughout the school day.
By: David Campbell
Princeton High School underwent a daylong security "lockdown" by police Monday after authorities were notified of a possible threat of gang-related violence against a student there.
At the close of school Monday, no incidents of violence were reported, Princeton Borough Police Lt. Dennis McManimon said.
Up to six officers were stationed at the high school throughout the school day following notification that gang members from Trenton were headed to the school to harm a student there as retaliation for an altercation that may have occurred in the borough over the weekend, Lt. McManimon said.
The police lieutenant said the juvenile was removed from school for his safety and was interviewed by detectives. He gave no further details about the student or the alleged gang incident, but said, "This kid is not believed to be a member of any gang."
However, Lt. McManimon said, preliminary information suggests the student may have said something or had something said about him that may have led the Trenton youths to believe that he is involved in gangs.
In a conference call Monday with District Assistant Superintendent Jeffrey Graber and high school Principal Gary Snyder, Dr. Graber said a second student was also questioned by police and kept out of school as a safety precaution.
The assistant superintendent said the security measures Monday were not necessarily a "lockdown." He said that about five patrol cars were present at school grounds during school hours as a precaution, and that students were asked not to leave the building during their normal break time between 12:40 and 1:10 p.m.
Otherwise, Dr. Graber said, students maintained a typical school schedule. He said he did not detect any fear or anxiety among students at the high school. As of the end of classes Monday, no incidents were reported, he said.
The high school matter is at least indirectly related to the Crips and Bloods street gangs, the police lieutenant said. The gangs drew some attention in Princeton following media coverage about a month ago of a funeral for an alleged Bloods member and former PHS student who was shot in a Trenton park.
Jean Mario Israel, 18, of Lytle Street was buried in Princeton Cemetery following a service at First Baptist Church of Princeton that was noteworthy for the heavy local, county and state police presence there. About 100 mourners wearing gang colors attended the burial, draping the coffin with gang colors and performing gang salutes. Mr. Israel’s killer was a Crips gang member, police have said, and Mr. Israel appeared to have been murdered over a $100 debt owed by a friend.
"Lately, a lot of kids have become enamored and I mean enamored with that whole funeral and this gang activity," Lt. McManimon said. He said some youths will behave or dress or otherwise give false indications that they’re members of gangs when they’re not, raising the potential of harm being inflicted on them.
Such behavior can also lead to criminal activity like what occurred Sunday evening on Halloween night. A band of 40 or 50 young people reportedly went "wilding" in the Hodge Road and Cleveland Lane area of the borough, acting out aggressively and threatening other children to hand over their Halloween candy. While being confronted by officers, several showed gang signs and made machine-gun-like inflections in words understood to be a gang signal, the lieutenant said. He said several were wearing gang colors.
"We have a group of kids here that fancy themselves some kind of gang," he said.
Some even threatened to murder officers in retaliation, Police Chief Charles Davall said Monday.
In a related incident Sunday night, an 11-year-old boy was reportedly assaulted and his candy stolen on Paul Robeson Place by some of these youths. Lt. McManimon has asked that residents report any similar incidents to police.
Princeton Regional Board of Education President Anne Burns said Monday that school officials were notified by police of some incidents of violence over the weekend that involved students, which she said led to the high school lockdown Monday as a precautionary measure. She said police presence at the school was expected today "to let things calm down." Ms. Burns said she had no further details about the matter.