Alerts Bergen County News North Arlington Police Public Safety

Social-media threat to NAHS ended quickly by NAPD, superintendent says

3 December 2018
Kevin A. Canessa Jr. | Editor & Broadcaster

UPDATED Dec. 3 at 6:50 p.m., with a statement from NAPD Chief Scott Hedenberg.

A threat was made today against North Arlington High School — and police quickly arrested the two who were reportedly responsible. Stephen Yurchak, superintendent of North Arlington schools, released the following statement following the threat. We will report more as soon as information becomes available.

Good afternoon. 

This is Dr. Stephen Yurchak, superintendent of schools. 

Earlier this afternoon, at approximately 1:45 p.m., school officials were made aware of a social-media threat directed toward North Arlington High School. The North Arlington Police Department (NAPD) was notified and within minutes, located the two suspects believed to have made the threat. 

They are now in custody. 

During this time, North Arlington High School and North Arlington Middle School were placed on lockdown. Our elementary schools also took precautionary measures during parent/teacher conferences. We’ll continue to work with the NAPD in the coming days. We appreciate everyone’s efforts and support as we continue to keep our children safe. 

Thank you.

Meanwhile, Scott Hedenberg, chief of the North Arlington Police Department, also released the following statement this evening at 6:50 p.m.:

Earlier this afternoon, North Arlington High School received information from a member of the student body that a possible threat was made over social media.  The initial information reported referenced the high school; however, at that time, there were no specific individuals named.  Although the threat could not be verified as credible at that point, the proper actions were taken, involving a lock down and notification to the police department.  
The North Arlington Police Department immediately responded and mobilized all resources available, which resulted in the individuals involved being located within a very brief period of time. Once those individuals were in custody, with the investigation ongoing, it was determined that no threat existed, and the school lockdown ended, with the students being dismissed only minimally later than usual.  
At this time, the investigation, and collection of statements from those involved, continues. Should the investigation establish the necessary level of proof for criminal charges, those involved will be held accountable and charged accordingly.
The student body, school faculty and police personnel should once again be commended for their collaboration and effectiveness in handling this situation.

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Kevin A. Canessa Jr. is the editor of and broadcaster at The Observer, an organization he has served since 2006. He is responsible for the editorial content of the newspaper and website, the production of the e-Newspaper, writing several stories per week (including the weekly editorial), conducting live broadcasts on social media channels such as YouTube, Facebook, and X, including a weekly recap of the news — and much more behind the scenes. Between 2006 and 2008, he introduced the newspaper to its first-ever blog — which included podcasts, audio and video. Originally from Jersey City, Kevin lived in Kearny until 2004, lived in Port St. Lucie. Florida, for four years until February 2016 and in March of that year, he moved back to Kearny to return to The Observer full time. Click Here to send Kevin an email.