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2 Rockland teens arrested for making threats against high school, police say

ROCKLAND, Mass. — Two teenagers in Rockland are in custody for making threats against their high school.

Two freshmen at Rockland High School have been arrested for allegedly threatening to commit acts of violence at the school on Friday afternoon.

Police say a 14-year-old and 15-year-old are charged with making terroristic threats and disturbing a school assembly.

“This is a very difficult climate with the events of this week in Florida still fresh in our minds,” Superintendent Alan Cron said.

At 1:25 p.m., police say the 14- and 15-year-old made a phone call saying they planned to harm people at the school.

“The first was to do self-inflicted harm, the second was to shoot up a school,” Police Chief John Llewellyn said.

The students were arrested within 30 minutes of making the calls.

Police said the calls were made from cell phones in the high school cafeteria. The younger student was still at school when he was arrested, the older student was taken into custody at his home.

“Fingers are being pointed at each other – there were other students around and they are being interviewed as well,” Llewellyn said.

All schools in Rockland sheltered in place during the investigation - out of an abundance of caution. That was lifted soon after.

“Unfortunately 17 people just lost their lives 2 days ago because of this kind of threat and I will tell you from the Rockland Police Dept., we are going to prosecute this to the fullest extent of the law,” Llewellyn said.

The Superintendent of Schools released the following statement:

"The Rockland Police Department acted quickly to respond to this threat, and the individuals are in custody," Superintendent Cron said. "I am very pleased that our faculty and staff and the police department worked closely this afternoon, following all of the policies and procedures we have in place in the event of an emergency. What matters most is that no one was harmed today."

The investigation remains ongoing. At this time, it is not known if the threat was credible. The names of the suspects cannot be released due to their ages. The 15-year-old suspect was taken to a local hospital for an evaluation. The suspects will be held and will likely be arraigned in Hingham Juvenile Court on Tuesday.

"I am very proud of the effort put forth today by our officers and school officials," Chief Llewellyn said. "Thanks to an aggressive investigation, and in no small part thanks to the close working relationship between the Rockland Police Department and Rockland Public Schools, these suspects were identified quickly and arrested."

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Rockland Police, school officials discussing quick arrest of 2 teens who allegedly threatened high school.

Posted by Boston 25 News on Friday, February 16, 2018

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