BROOKFIELD -- Police have an increased presence at local schools after they said a student posted a threatening message towards the school on social media.
Joao Desa, a senior at Danbury High School, which is near Brookfield, said he was shocked to hear that this happened so close to where he lives.
“If somebody at my school posted something like that I wouldn’t even be able to go to school," said Desa. "It’s another reason to rethink going to school, and that shouldn’t be something that we have to think about as kids. We are still kids!”
Brookfield Police Department said the post was made Tuesday night, and seen by several people. That post was brought to the attention of school administration, and ultimately brought to police, who later arrested a 16-year-old boy.
“Nobody takes this lightly, this is a very serious matter," said James Purcell, Chief of the Brookfield Police Department. "We are very grateful for the students who came forward and because they did so in such a timely fashion we were able to effectively pursue it and make an arrest.”
Police said the post revealed what they determined to be an air soft rifle modeled after the AR-15 style rife with air soft magazines, ammunition, and a threatening text about school on Wednesday.
“There’s one more person that is not afraid to speak up against this kind of thing," said Desa. "Even though it’s not a real gun, it does make people afraid and alert.”
The Brookfield student has since been charged with first degree threatening, which is a felony charge, and will now have to go before a judge in juvenile court.
“It makes people think about, going to school, you know, should I go to school today, am I going to come back alive," said Desa. "That is not something that we should be thinking about, we should be thinking about our AP classes, and how well we are doing, not thinking about whether we are going to make it.”
The school already has a resource officer, as well as police on sight for arrival and dismissal but in light of this event, have now increased presence at schools in town.
“Those officers are there to respond immediately if something were to happen," said Purcell. "We don’t want to make it seem like it’s an armed camp, it’s a friendly environment but a safe environment.”
No other details are being released at this time because the student is a minor, but police said the student is not currently in school.