Amherst Police have announced that a 14-year-old student has been charged with making a terroristic threat and making a threat of mass harm, after Sweet Home High School went into lockdown last Monday following threats of planted bombs and person with a gun in the school building.
Unrelated to the incident, the student has been charged with second degree criminal mischief and two counts of second degree arson for allegedly starting multiple fires that caused damage the week of May 11. The 14-year-old was transported to Erie County Family Court.
On Monday May 12 a lockdown was put into place at Sweet Home High School after a gun and bomb threat was called into police and the district office. School leaders say there turned out to be "no actual threats."
Around 1:10 p.m. Amherst Police released a statement saying it was investigating, and the incident that was reported had not yet been verified.
Later the police department confirmed the situation had been resolved, but that their investigation remains ongoing.
Meanwhile, Sweet Home Central School District Superintendent Michael Ginestre sent an update to parents confirming a phone threat came in to both the district office and Amherst Police Department shortly after noon. The threat said a person had a gun in a high school bathroom, and that were three bombs placed on the premises.
Sweet Home High School went into immediate lockdown according to Ginestre, and Amherst police responded within minutes. He said a search of bathrooms and classrooms of the school by police concluded there were "no actual threats" present. The school then downgraded to a "shelter-in-place" while police K-9's continued searches.
Around 2:05 p.m. parents could be seen pulling up to the school and waving down their kids while other students calmly boarded the bus. Sweet Home typically dismisses around this time according to its website.
Ginestre said students were told to leave their back packs and locker belongings behind, as Amherst police wanted to continue their sweep of the building.
As staff and students left, police and K-9 units from Amherst, NFTA, Orchard Park, State Police and the Erie County Sheriff's remained outside.
No injuries to students or staff were reported. Sweet Home has over 1,000 students and nearly 200 staff members.
