Teen Charged With Riverhead School Threat

A 14-year-old Calverton boy arrested for allegedly threatening the Riverhead Charter School where he is a student is facing an upgraded charge with a stiffer penalty, Riverhead Town Police said.

The boy was initially charged with making a threat of mass harm, a misdemeanor generally punishable by a maximum of up to a year in jail. Detectives and the FBI continued the investigation and later charged the teen with making a terroristic threat, a felony punishable by a maximum of four years in prison, plus fines and restitution, for a youthful offender.

Making a terroristic threat is defined under New York State law as intending “to intimidate or coerce a civilian population, influence the policy of a unit of government by intimidation or coercion, or affect the conduct of a unit of government by [threatening] murder, assassination or kidnapping.”

Officers had responded to the school on Sound Avenue after officials reported the threat posted on social media on January 3, police said. Authorities searched the school building but did not find anything suspicious, police said.

The boy was released to a parent and will be arraigned on a later date. His name was not released because he is a minor. The investigation is continuing.

The incident came after The Amagansett School and three schools in Southampton were evacuated two days apart in October following a pair of bomb threats. No arrests have been made in this cases.