The Old Rochester Regional High School administration, along with the Rochester and Mattapoisett Police Departments, had been investigating a reported potential threat made towards the student body at the high school, and Principal Mike Devoll followed up the report on December 9 with an email message to parents.
In the December 9 letter, Devoll explained that a student had reported to the administration that an alleged threat had been made, which the school promptly looked into. An investigation turned up nothing substantial, however.
“The investigation revealed that there was no threat made towards anyone at ORRHS, there was no ‘hit list’ as was rumored by many students, and there was no intent to harm anyone on the ORRHS campus,” stated Devoll.
Police determined that the students were safe and would continue to remain safe, Devoll added.
Then ten days later, on December 19, Devoll issued another email to parents to further put their increasing fears and speculation to rest.
Devoll wrote, “From that initial report, a number of rumors have spread around the communities that have all gone unfounded.”
Devoll said administration, along with police, followed-up on all rumors and allegations and found nothing that substantiated any alleged threats.
In the meantime, the school has fielded a number of calls over the last week from parents with concerns over rumors their children had been telling them, Devoll said. School staff had also been meeting with students individually, debriefing them on the matter in order to address student concerns as well.
“We will continue to speak to anyone that has concerns or has reports that warrant investigating,” said Devoll.