The initial investigation into an assortment of violent threats involving Fairfield schools led police to determine that the threats were either a hoax or were possibly abandoned.
“Our indication right now is that these obviously did not occur, and in all likelihood were not going to occur,” said Fairfield Police Chief Gary MacNamara. “Unfortunately, when we respond or report to this, we can’t differentiate fact from fiction when we’re responding.”
Listen below to comments by MacNamara:
The incident began in the morning when police got a call claiming there was a hostage situation on a street in Fairfield. Police investigated and found nothing, MacNamara said. Calls then started coming in to schools, threatening violence with bombs and assault weapons.
Police then ordered a lockdown of all 17 schools.
“First of all, the priority is to make sure the schools were secure and the children and staff were safe,” MacNamara said.
The FBI and other area police departments are investigating the threats, which constitute potential acts of terror, according to MacNamara. The source of the calls are being investigated, and there are several possible charges that could be brought against the callers.
"It's hard to decipher what the charges could be, but there are certainly significant charges that can be [levied] for making terrorist threats," MacNamara said. "These were intentional threats made to disrupt and put fear into our community, and we're certainly going to investigate them and prosecute all those charges that we can going forward if we identify who did it."
Parent Paul Silverfarb had just boarded a commuter train at about 9:50 am on Friday when he received a Code Red alert on his cell phone, telling him that Fairfield Warde High School was in lockdown due to a bomb threat at the school.
“It was kind of scary,” Silverfarb said. His children attend school only a mile from Fairfield Warde. “It was scary knowing that something so dangerous and so close to you – and not even being in the same town to pick up your kids or help your kids – kind of gives you a helpless feeling.”
Silverfarb's parents were able to pick up their grandchildren from the school’s library at about 1:30 pm, he said.
The incident brought back memories for Silverfarb, whose wife, Beth, worked in Redding schools during the Newtown shootings in 2012. Since that time, many districts partnered with police departments to develop lockdown drills. The state has also provided grants to reimburse districts that work to improve security.
Activities at Fairfield Public Schools were canceled for the day. MacNamara said school activities scheduled for Saturday would resume. School is expected to be in session on Monday.
