Scarsdale HS Receives Threat, Institutes Lockout Friday

SCARSDALE, NY — Scarsdale High School underwent a lockout Friday, and students were sent home early.

Superintendent Thomas Hagerman said the action was taken out of an abundance of caution while the district and police evaluated the credibility of a reported threat.

"Because of the ongoing police investigation, we are unable to release specific details about the incident," he said in a letter to the community. "We do understand that the lack of details can be frustrating; however, we need to allow the investigation to proceed unimpeded, and we appreciate your trust that we are all acting in the most prudent way possible. We can assure the community at this point that there is not currently a threat to the community-at-large."

The decision to release students early was arrived at in collaboration with the Scarsdale Police Department, and at no time did the district believe there was a threat to the wider community or to specific students.

School officials said it was determined that the safest course of action was to release students with a strong police presence. The process was efficient, and the campus was cleared quickly.

Hagerman said, given the information district officials learned over the course of the afternoon, it is believed that normal school functions can be resumed.

Therefore, he said activities scheduled for Saturday will take place, and classes will resume normally on Monday.

The Scarsdale police will be maintaining an increased presence around the high school this weekend and next week.

"We would like to thank the Scarsdale Police Department for their swift response, professionalism, and ongoing support of the school district," Hagerman said.