Burlington Township school, police investigate online ‘hit list’
BURLINGTON TOWNSHIP NJ Aug 20 2019— For the past few days, Monica Andrews said she has been feeling uneasy about sending her son back to school in September. She’s one of a handful of Burlington Township Middle School parents who believe their kids appeared on a hit list written by another student in early August.
It started about 10 days ago, when a parent of her son’s friend texted her a screenshot of a conversation on the mobile app Snapchat. A picture of the phone conversation, provided by Andrews, shows a typed list of names and groups — including one with a gun emoji next to it — and a conversation in which one of the individuals insists the list is a joke. Andrews said the list also called her son, who is black, a racial slur.
Andrews’ son didn’t think much of the list, she said, but another friend was frightened by it and showed his parents. Andrews said she reported it to the police right away.
“With all the shootings that have happened lately, it’s scary out there now,” Andrews said. “I have to protect my son.”
Police were made aware of the Snapchat posting on Aug. 6, Burlington Township Police Lt. Jim Sullivan said Saturday afternoon. The police department immediately notified the school, initiated an investigation and found the individual and their family within a few hours. After gathering information and consulting with the Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office, no immediate threat was found, Sullivan said.
“We treated this instance as a potential threat, like we do anytime a post explicitly or implicitly threatens safety,” Sullivan said.
The school district responded to the incident as swiftly as it could, despite the school’s normal protocol being delayed because it’s not currently in session, Superintendent Mary Anne Bell said Saturday. Had the incident occurred during the school year, Bell said the school would notify the police immediately, and it would be easier to get a hold of all the families that might be involved. The district also has a school resource officer in the school.
While police and the school found no immediate threat, Bell said she and officials from the middle school identified the families whose students could be affected and reached out to them. Multiple parents also came to the district in person on Aug. 7, the day after the incident, and Bell said she spoke with them through a conference call while she was on vacation.
“We’re in continuous conversation with the identified parents,” she said. “Today’s world is scary. We did follow our protocol, though it was choppier than during the school year. It’s the combination of summer and the lack of an immediate concern.”
Bell also noted that the school takes safety and security seriously and has been participating in youth mental health first aid training with Rutgers University and local law enforcement. The district also uses Gaggle, a safety management in the Google suite the schools use for emailing, to monitor emails for threatening, dangerous or inappropriate words. She also encouraged parents to keep a close eye on what social media apps their kids are using.
“It can never be stressed enough that if anyone finds something concerning, that if they see something, they say something and tell the police,” Bell added. “While the school district may not be in session and have all its resources, the police are here all the time, and it’s important that if someone has a concern, they reach out and let the police look into it.”
