By: Akhtan Oryspayev
At Greenwich High school on Thursday, December 12, 2021, a disturbing message was found in the girl’s bathroom. The next day, there was a police presence at Greenwich High School to ensure student safety. The threat was allegedly made by a 15-year-old who is now facing charges. The charges currently being pressed are first-degree threatening, third-degree criminal mischief, and breach of peace, according to the Greenwich Police Department. They have not released any more information on the suspect.
On Friday, December 13, 2021, Westhill High School had a shelter in place. Earlier in the week, there had been a nonspecific threat written on a bathroom wall at Westhill. But the leading cause for concern was the specific threat made at Greenwich High School the day before. Images of this threat at Greenwich High had been circulated inside Westhill by students, prompting a concerned call to the Stamford Police Department. When the officers arrived they entered the school, beginning a shelter in place while they searched for any threat. At both schools, the police deemed there to be no credible threat.
“Honestly everything was just so confusing, students were saying one thing and teachers were saying other things. Everything was just rumors on top of rumors and you did not know what to believe,” said Stephanie Aguirre (‘23).
By the time it was confirmed that no threat existed, the shelter in place had extended far past fourth period and into the lunch waves. Due to the disruptions caused by the shelter in place, students had an early dismissal. This dismissal caused Westhill students to miss out on periods 5, 6 and 7 before the weekend, disrupting the normal schedule but giving everyone time to relax before school began again.
“From the start to the finish the situation was kind of uncalled for, and the delays made it harder to know what was really going on,” said Andres Carrasco Oquendo (‘23).
Moving into Monday, students and staff had a virtual meeting during first period to explain what happened to the students and staff. It took almost all of first period and took away more time from the school day, but it was necessary to communicate what had happened on that Friday.