Taunton student being criminally charged after allegedly writing threatening messages

TAUNTON — Chief Edward Walsh and Taunton Public Schools Superintendent John Cabral report that a student who allegedly wrote threatening messages on bathroom walls at Taunton High School earlier this week has been identified today.

The juvenile student will face criminal charges and will likely be issued a summons to appear in court at a later date. The student will also face discipline in accordance with the school district’s policies and procedures. Because the student is a juvenile, the student’s identity and age are not being released.

The student allegedly wrote a threatening, non-specific message found on a bathroom wall Wednesday morning, Oct. 20. Additional similar messages were found in other bathrooms the following day by school officials at the high school. It is believed that the student allegedly wrote those messages as well.

Taunton Police did not believe the threats were credible and there is no current threat at Taunton High School.

“We are relieved that the Taunton Police were able to identify this student and bring this situation to a safe and swift end,” Superintendent Cabral said. “As we do with all threats, we took this matter very seriously and I want to thank the Taunton Police and Taunton High School administrators and staff for their assistance over the past couple days.”

Out of an abundance of caution, there was an extra police presence at Taunton High School and Parker Middle School, which share the same grounds, today and on Thursday. Both schools operated on their normal schedules during that time. They will operate on their normal schedules on Monday as well.

“I want to commend our detectives, SROs and officers for their work in the investigation and helping to identify the suspect in this case,” Chief Walsh said. “This type of behavior can have serious impacts and I would strongly urge parents and guardians to talk to their children about the consequences such actions can have.”