Police investigate possible shooting threat at Weaver High in Hartford

Hartford police said they are investigating a possible social media threat at Weaver High School Friday.

“Somebody said they’d shoot up the school,” Lt. Aaron Boisvert said shortly after 7:30 a.m.

Students were not allowed into the school at 415 Granby St. in the Blue Hills neighborhood until they were checked by security staff, said John Fergus, spokesman for Hartford Public Schools. Staff members used handheld metal detectors and checked students’ bags, he said.

“There was some waiting as the process was conducted,” Fergus said, but students made it to their first-period classes.

Security workers took the extra precautions after a staff member overnight saw a social media post from someone who said they heard someone was going to shoot up the school Friday, he said.

Police determined that there was no public safety threat, Boisvert said. They continue to investigate.

About 9:30 a.m. Thursday, administrators issued a “Code Yellow” alert because the student had “made a threat of violence toward the school,” Acting Principal Tiffany Webley said in a letter to the school community.

No weapon was found in the school and, in collaboration with Hartford police, the threat was not determined to be credible, she said.

A Code Yellow alert requires students to stay put and refrain from moving about the school to limit movement in an emergency.

It’s not clear if the incident is connected to a previous threat a Weaver student made on social media.

Christine Dempsey may be reached at cdempsey@courant.com.