On March 9 at approximately 9:22 a.m., Suffield Police responded to Suffield High School located at 1060 Sheldon Street to assist the School Resource Officer and school administration with a distraught student. School administration and the School Resource Officer reacted quickly in locating and separating the student, age 17, from other students and staff. As efforts were being taken to locate family members of this student, the student escalated the situation by becoming agitated and out of control, pushing school faculty and running out of the front of the high school. Suffield Police ran after the student, immediately stopping him outside the front entrance of the school.
The student remained out of control and violent towards the police officers. Suffield Police attempted to de-escalate the student, who was continuing to display out of control and violent behaviors, and requested an ambulance to the scene. During this time, the student made verbal threats that he had placed a “bomb” in the high school. While school staff and police coordinated contacting family members out of state, the student was transported to a local area hospital for evaluation and treatment.
As a precautionary measure, erring on the side of caution and safety for students and staff, leadership of the Suffield Public School in conjunction with Suffield emergency services, promptly evacuated the high school and enacted an early dismissal for Suffield High School. Buses were called in to transport students home, students who drove to school were released from the scene, and an area for parents to pick-up students was established away from the school building.
Bomb detection police canine teams from the Connecticut State Police responded to the scene at the request of Suffield Police. Sweeps of all areas of the school were conducted by these police canine teams with school officials. No suspicious items were located during this comprehensive search of the high school.
Suffield High School has been deemed safe and is re-opened for after-school activities and for students to return to gather any possessions they may have left during their exit from the school.
Both the Suffield Public School District and the Suffield Police Department distributed messages via the school community notification system (Everbridge) and social media platforms to make parents and families aware of this incident as well as to provide updates throughout the incident.
All threats to our schools and our community are taken seriously. This matter will continue to be investigated by the Suffield Police Department and the Suffield Public School District. The Suffield Police and our partners want to thank all parents, caregivers, and community members for your cooperation during the incident.