Security remained high at a Harford County high school Monday morning, the result of a threatening letter that came to the school Thursday.
For the fourth consecutive day, sheriff?s deputies and school resource officers remained extra vigilant at C. Milton Wright High School outside Bel Air, responding in force to a written threat against the student body that kept half the students home on Friday, heightened security at Saturday?s senior prom and kept the school on modified lockdown for another day Monday.
“I want to stress that this was all precautionary,” schools spokesman Don Morrison said. “Superintendent [Jacqueline] Haas wants to emphasize that we would not have opened schools on Friday or Monday if we felt there was an imminent threat.”
Morrison said the weekend passed without incident, albeit with extra security even for about 60 students serving Saturday detention. Officers escorted groups from place to place within the building, closed off areas they would not use and swept the school after each movement, Morrison said.
Chris Battaglia, actingprincipal at C. Milton Wright, said there were two state troopers on duty at Saturday?s prom at Martin?s Eastwind in Baltimore, and the local security staff had been briefed on the threat. Tickets were checked extra carefully and all doors but the main entrance were locked to prevent entrance from the outside.
About 400 freshmen arrived at 7:30 a.m. Monday for state High School Assessment exams, while the rest of the students came at 10 a.m. as part of the school?s typical testing schedule. Morrison said the school was back up to 90 percent attendance ? an improvement over Friday, when half the school stayed home.
“It?s still below average. We?d be looking at about 95 percent on a regular day,” Morrison said. “But it?s a good sign that things are returning to normal.”
Sheriff?s Office spokeswoman Sgt. Christina Presberry said that resource officers will continue to investigate the threatening letter and do not yet have a suspect.
Authorities have refused to divulge more about the nature or credibility of the letter, saying the investigation is ongoing. But several students said Friday they had heard rumors the threat involved a murder-suicide.
Presberry said security will be downgraded today to the school?s regular resource officers, though patrolling sheriff?s deputies will check in throughout the day.
