A coordinated investigation between the Bensalem Township School District and Bensalem Township Police has identified the juvenile student who “Airdropped” a threatening photograph to other students. The juvenile will be disciplined by the school district and will be charged criminally by police.
On April 25, the school district conducted a routine drill at the high school. During the drill, all students were moved to the stadium per normal protocols. While students were staged at the stadium, an unknown student “Airdropped” a photograph of a gun in a backpack to several other students. One of the students reported the photograph to staff, who alerted the Bensalem High School Resource Officer. That officer requested additional police assistance at the stadium and advised school district officials.
All students were held at the stadium until the general area where the “Airdropped” photograph was identified. Some of the students were allowed to return to class while students located in the designated area had their backpacks searched by school district personnel and police. Once the searches were complete, all students were allowed to re-enter the school to continue classes.
These searches were done out of an abundance of caution, and all students were fully cooperative. No weapons were located during the search of the students and the stadium. Bensalem Police were quickly able to determine that the photograph of a gun in a backpack was a “stock” photograph that was readily available for download on the internet.
Police are urging parents to have a serious discussion with their children about the impact this type of behavior can have at school and about the consequences of making bad decisions as it relates to threats of school violence.
