The joy of the annual Cazenovia Winter Festival has been clouded this weekend after the WinterFest high school dance was postponed due to the “rumor of a threat” of violence; while school property was damaged by graffiti on Friday night.
Cazenovia police are actively investigating the rumor of a threat that first was reported last Tuesday, Feb. 7, during which a Cazenovia student reportedly made “a foolish comment referencing Columbine [shooting massacre in 1999],” according to Cazenovia Police Chief Michael Hayes. “There are no new threats as of today.”
The student was immediately suspended by the school district, Hayes said.
“The school took immediate action – proper action, I believe – the student’s parents took immediate action and the student then understood the gravity of his act,” Hayes said. “This was never his intent. I honestly think the student is now a victim of a social media tirade.”
Hayes said the concern that has reached a crescendo throughout the community today, Saturday, Feb. 11, is the result of “social media at its worst.” He said people are “coming to conclusions based on speculations of a rumor; the rumors that this individual made threats are not verified.”
Hayes said the student, who he would not identify by age or name because he is a minor, has been interviewed twice so far by police, has no access to weapons and is being actively monitored by his parents 24 hours a day.
“There is no need for panic in the streets; we are actively working on it,” Hayes said.
Cazenovia Superintendent Matt Reilly called the incident “the rumor of a threat, unsubstantiated,” but it made people nervous enough that the district decided to postpone the WinterFest dance tonight, Saturday, Feb. 11, out of “an overabundance of caution – safety is our paramount concern, and the peace of mind of our kids.”
Reilly said “the credibility of this [threat] is really suspect.”
Reilly said he could not comment further on any details of the ongoing investigation into the case. He also would not identify the student involved by age, grade or name, and would not verify that the student was suspended over his comment on Tuesday. “I don’t talk about individual student discipline,” he said.
Reilly has posted a letter about the dance postponement on the district’s website at cazenoviacsd.com.
In a separate incident that occurred sometime Friday night, Feb. 10, one or more persons defaced school property by spray painting “vulgarities” on multiple structures, Reilly said. The graffiti was on the athletic field concessions building, the Lakers sign on that building behind the bleachers, the announcer’s booth, a utilities shed at the north end of the field and on one of the baseball field dugouts. Most of the graffiti has been removed, Reilly said.
The two incidents are apparently not related, although that is still under investigation, said both Hayes and Reilly.
Hayes said the damage amounts to probably hundreds of dollars; Reilly said he had no idea of the monetary value of the damage at this point.
Both men said that when the perpetrators of the graffiti are caught, they will be prosecuted.
“We are going to find out who did this and if they can face criminal prosecution, they will,” Hayes said.
“The district intends to press charges to the fullest extent we are able in addition to school consequences if it happens to be a student,” Reilly said. “It’s a shame that things took this turn; the snow sculptures, the snow Olympics, the talent show have all been fantastic. It’s disappointing.”
Anyone with information about the graffiti that occurred Friday night are asked to contact the Cazenovia Police Department at 655-3041.
