Hudson Valley Students Receive Scary School Shooting Threat
Hudson Valley students were told to stay home if they didn't want to "get lit up."
On Thursday, Sept 15 around 12:45 p.m., officials from the Middletown School District were told about a concerning image someone received on a phone through Apple AirDrop. The message warned of a school shooting during Friday's pep rally.
AirDrop Threat Made Towards Middletown, New York High School
"On 9/16 the school will be shot up during the pep rally if (you) don't wanna get lit up don't show up (an) AK-17 will be used," the threat stated, according to the Enlarged City School District of Middletown.
Apple AirDrop is a wireless service that can transfer files from Apple phones and computers using close-range wireless communication.
The threat was shared many times during the school's lunch making it "virtually impossible to track the source," officials say.
"Due to the number of times the image was shared, we are unable to determine where the threat originated," Middletown Superintendent of Schools Amy Creeden told members of the community.
Hold In Place Issued At Orange County, New York School
A hold in place was called and cell phones were collected. Phones were returned to students and the hold in place was lifted because it was "impossible" to determine the origination of the treat," officials add.
The City of Middletown Police Department and school district conducted investigations but could not determine where the threat came from.
"The City of Middletown Police Department worked with their cyber intel department and was unable to gain any information from the metadata which could lead to identifying the individual who created the threat," Creeden added.
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Middletown Pep Rally Cancelled, Increased Police Presence
The pep rally was canceled for Friday but Middletown schools remained open with an increased police presence.
"Our opening at the High School was very successful and without any incidents," Creeden stated on Friday. "We know some families choose to keep their HS scholars home today. Due to the extraordinary circumstances surrounding yesterday, HS educators will make sure there is no negative impact on academics for any scholar who was absent on Friday."