10-year-old boy behind South Jersey school shooting threat; situation at Cumberland Community College resolved

Updated: 1:33 p.m.

School shooting threat

A school shooting threat that was emailed to a New Jersey teacher and led three school districts to close for the day has been traced back to a 10-year-old boy.

The Franklin Township Police Department has charged the boy with making terroristic threats and causing a false public alarm after he sent an email to a teacher that referenced a school shooting.

The teacher contacted police about the email around 1:20 Thursday morning. Following a conference call with law enforcement and school district officials, the Franklin Township and Delsea Regional School Districts decided to close on Thursday. Elk Township School District followed suit because they share buses with Franklin Township.

Police said that even as they investigated the first email, the boy continued to send threatening emails to other school administrators, at one point referencing another shooting at a different school.

The boy is a student in the Franklin Township School District.

Police said they will release him to his parents after a psychological evaluation.

There is no longer a threat to the public, law enforcement officials said, and classes will resume on Friday.

Hostile intruder

Just after 11 a.m., Cumberland County College in Vineland, New Jersey, lifted its lockdown. A message alerting that the condition was resolved and campus operations had returned to normal was posted briefly on the website.

Earlier in the morning a “hostile intruder alert” had been issued including a message on the school’s website that read:

“Secure yourself in a safe location. Remain in a safe location until additional instructions are received. Silence any mobile devices. If you are not on campus please stay away.”

The lockdown prompted others in the area including one at the Inspira Medical Center, also in Vineland.

A spokesperson at Inspira told WHYY in an emailed response that things are now all clear and that patients and visitors are able to enter the hospital through both the emergency and outpatient department entrances.

“Out of an abundance of caution, there is a police presence on the hospital campus,” said spokesperson Paul Simon.

He directed all other inquiries to the Vineland Police Department.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.