By Rachel Konopacki
A suspicious message found on a graphing calculator resulted in increased police presence at Havre de Grace High School for the second time in a month last Friday.
A Havre de Grace High School student found the calculator March 4; it had a suspicious message typed on it.
The calculator was turned over to a teacher and police were called to investigate.
“What was found on the calculator was not found to be a credible threat; however, it was a threat and we always take these things seriously,” Teri Kranefeld, manager of communications for the school system, said last week. “Erring on the side of caution, the Havre de Grace police were going to step up police presence today [Friday.]”
Attendance at the high school last Friday was not affected.
“Everything went smoothly on Friday,” Kranefeld said. “It was a normal day for the students.”
Kranefeld said an AlertNow message was sent to Havre de Grace parents the evening of March 4, informing them about the calculator and the increased police presence.
“We try to give as much information to the parents that we can without compromising the investigation,” Kranefeld said.
Maj. John Van Gilder, of the Havre de Grace Police Department, said Thursday the investigation is ongoing.
This was the second incident police have responded to at the school in a month.
On Feb. 3, the school was placed on lockdown for several hours after the police department received a call that there was going to be a shooting. No weapons were found when the school was searched.
The following day, Feb. 4, the school was placed under heightened police presence after a student turned in a suspicious looking map not long after a drug dog scan was conducted in the school. Classes went on as usual, and the map was taken for further investigation.
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