A high school in Massachusetts will be open as normal Friday following multiple security precautions that were taken after serious threats were discovered on a wall.
The threats were found and reported by a student Wednesday night at the Presentation of Mary Academy in Methuen. The exact nature of those threats has not been revealed by police.
Classes on Thursday were delayed until 8:25 a.m. while officials investigated the threats, two of which Methuen police said were serious and had no dates. While police said it was enough to jump into action to keep kids safe, they wish it didn't have to come to this.
"I know parents are nervous, I know students are extremely nervous," said Chief Joe Solomon. "Today will be a tough day for kids in school academically because you gotta go through a metal detector, it's like you're going to a jail. It's a very scary situation. Education is for education, not for a very high level of security, is for education but unfortunately it's necessary today."
A school threat assessment team assisted in controlled entry, while metal detectors were used alongside bag searches to ensure student safety.
"It's very unfortunate to have turmoil in a school like this but more importantly it's all about safety and we have to think of the students and faculty as well as we move forward," said Methuen Mayor Stephen Zanni.
Police will continue to investigate the threat.
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"We are feeling pretty comfortable with their investigation and are comfortable with opening our school again tomorrow," said Rose Maria Redman on behalf of the school. "We feel it's an isolated incident and are feeling comfortable they are handling the situation right now."
