Gardaí raid teen’s home after alleged gun threat to his school
ARMED gardaí staked out a teenager’s home for a number of hours before arresting him after he allegedly posted gun-related threats online against staff in the secondary school he attends.
The 16-year-old boy’s family home in Balbriggan, Co Dublin, was raided in a dawn search at 7.30am yesterday.
The raid happened a number of hours after gardaí contacted the school principal of Ardgillan Community College in the Castleland area of the town at 1.30am. He identified the student and heeded advice to close the school for the day.
Management at the school then sent a message to parents informing them the school would remain shut yesterday as gardaí investigated the material which was posted on the Instagram social network.
“As this situation evolved and more and more stuff appeared online, gardaí took the decision for specialist officers to watch the home of the pupil,” a source said last night.
“He was arrested and questioned for a number of hours before being released at around 12.30pm yesterday. No firearms or anything like that were recovered and nor is there any feeling that such weapons exist.
“A file will now be prepared for the DPP with a view that the suspect will be dealt with under the terms of the Juvenile Diversion Programme which means he may be able to get a second chance and avoid getting a criminal conviction,” the source added.
The pupil at the centre of the incident had not previously come to Garda attention and was not considered an “overly troublesome” pupil at the well-respected school.
According to its website, Ardgillan Community College “is committed to developing an excellent school and sets high standards in all aspects of college life”.
It reads on: “Achievements are celebrated and publicised and strong links exist with local primary schools and the community. 710 students are enrolled in 2015 and the college has long waiting lists in each year group.”
Sources said the school was expected to reopen today.
The security alert began when the pupil allegedly posted extremely disturbing threats on social media.
The series of threats were posted online as the pupil warned his fellow students not to go into school if they had “any regard for life”.
They read: “I think ima shoot up Ardgillen Community College tomorrow.
“Done’t come in tomorrow if you have any regard for your life, you’ve been warned.
“Think I’m joking, you’ll see tomorrow.”
When the Irish Independent called to the school yesterday, there was a low-key Garda presence as officers went into the college.
A spokesperson for the Dublin and Dún Laoghaire Education and Training Board administrative offices said it was confident the school will reopen as normal today, and described the incident as an “unfortunate hoax”.
“Dublin and Dún Laoghaire Education and Training Board (DDLETB) confirms that a school in north Co Dublin was closed yesterday on a precautionary basis arising from a matter which came to the attention of the school management and which has been referred to gardaí, who are investigating,” said a statement from the DDLETB.