School delayed due to bomb threat at Somerset high school

December 8, 2015 6:58 am

By News Staff

Reporting by Kainani Stevens

kstevens@abc6.com

A bomb threat in Somerset delayed the start of school Tuesday.

A student at Somerset-Berkley Regional High School made a threat on Twitter to blow up the high school with C-4. The student is now in custody.

State Police, Somerset Police, the SWAT team, and K-9 units all deployed in response to the threat. It took a little over two hours for law enforcement to clear the area and deem it safe for classes to resume.

The Somerset Police Chief George McNeil said the large response is in the best interest of keeping everyone safe, "We probably think that it’s a hoax. It may not be real, it probably isn’t real, but we just can’t take that chance.

The false threat was made by the sophomore student at the school on Twitter, as he bragged about bringing enough c-4 dynamite to school that it would "blow everyone to the moon." That student was arrested after authorities searched his home for explosives.

The student will be charged with making a bomb threat and may also face other charges.

"If somebody commits a felony such as this, even if they think its a joke, we don’t think its a joke," said Chief McNeil.

Students were surprised something like this would happen at their school, but were happy to hear what law enforcement did to keep them safe.

"I was definitely a little scared. It’s a new school and I really like it. Obviously I don’t want anything to happen to anyone hear–certainly not myself. It makes me feel better to know that there are people here to help and people who care about us and this place," said Christopher Laplant, a senior at the high school. "Makes me feel safer going into school knowing SWAT was here to check everything out."