Police: Arrest made after threats made toward Conemaugh Valley High School
Jan. 12—JOHNSTOWN, Pa. — An arrest has been made regarding alleged threats directed toward Conemaugh Valley High School students.
East Taylor Township Police Department Det. Paul Deffenbaugh said Wednesday that the incident was "concluded and handled expeditiously" thanks to cooperation among the involved parties, including Conemaugh Valley School District officials.
Deffenbaugh said more details are expected to be made public on Thursday.
Shane Hazenstab, the district's superintendent, said a student from a neighboring school district allegedly made "threats of what he intended to do" at an upcoming high school winter formal dance.
The superintendent said the threats were "general in nature," not pinpointed toward specific individuals.
Multiple Conemaugh Valley students originally reported the information to school officials on Wednesday.
Hazenstab said the other district and Pennsylvania State Police were contacted, which then led to the involvement of the East Taylor Township police.
A message from the district was sent out to parents and guardians of Conemaugh Valley students.
"I'm absolutely pleased (with how the process worked)," Hazenstab said. "We always say safety is our single most important thing that we do.
"We have over 800 people come to our school campus every day — over 700 students and roughly a hundred adults. For everybody to get there safely and go home safely is priority No. 1.
"Everything else is secondary."
