Delhi village police arrested two suspects Thursday for allegedly making threats at the Delaware Academy Central School District in Delhi.
Parents of children at the school got two troubling voicemail messages from the school -- one Wednesday and one on Thursday -- announcing that threats had been made at the school.
The text of Thursday's voicemail message:
Good evening. This is a mesage from Delaware Academy Central School District at Delhi from Jason Thomson, Superintendent. Message to all parents, guardians and staff: Today we received a second message that could be perceived as a threat. The matter was turned over to the local police. The police have investigated the matter, and are confident that they have the suspects. This is a serious matter and the offenders will be charged accordingly. Due to the nature of the charges we are unable to release further details. A thorough search of the school was conducted and no threats were found. The school was deemed safe and secure. Thank you.
Village of Delhi Police Department chief Michael Mills told the Watershed Post that shortly after noon on Thursday, a threatening message was discovered in a textbook that was shared among many students in a classroom.
"In a textbook, it said 'In case of an emergency, refer to the back page.' When you flipped to the back page, it said, 'Just bomb this f---ing school,'" said Mills. "It seemed that it was probably done in the last week."
Mills said that he thought the threat may have been made in reaction to a bomb threat made on Tuesday at the nearby SUNY Delhi campus that was later deemed a hoax.
"I think it may have been a repercussion of the SUNY Delhi threat," he said.
Mills declined to describe the first threat discovered at the school on Wednesday, saying that it was still under investigation, but said it was a message written on a locker.
"It could have been read to mean a threat. It was less specific than the one found today," he said.
Mills said that two juveniles have been arrested and charged with making a terroristic threat -- a class D felony -- in connection with the message found in the textbook. The students were not taken into custody, but issued juvenile appearance tickets. The students were also suspended from school, Mills said.
Police believe the school is safe, Mills said.
"We don't feel there was any danger to any students or staff at any point in time," he said.
Assisting in the investigation, along with Delhi village police, were the Delaware County Sheriff's Office, New York State Police, and Delaware County District Attorney's Office.
Note, 7:30pm: This story has been updated from a previous version to add information provided by Delhi village police.
10:30pm: We have also added information to clarify that the students were not taken into police custody.
