THE Department of Public Safety, after a thorough investigation, said it has apprehended two underage individuals who made violent threats against Fransisco M. Sablan Middle School.
According to the department’s public information officer, Sgt. Fred Sato, on Sunday, Sept. 17, 2023, at approximately 12:52 p.m., DPS investigators charged two male juveniles under 16 with “making a terroristic threat and conspiracy.”
Superior Court Associate Judge Wesley Bogdan issued an arrest warrant the same day for both juveniles, and set bail at $25,000 each.
“We want our community to know that DPS will not tolerate any acts of misconduct and will investigate them aggressively,” DPS stated.
“We pledge to identify, apprehend, and prosecute anyone responsible to the fullest extent of the law. We also request that parents or guardians take proactive measures to monitor their child’s online activity. Such acts can cause fear, panic, stress, and disruption to other students, their families, and the campus staff. We ask for your support to help us maintain a safe and secure environment for everyone,” DPS added.
Seriously
In an interview on Friday, DPS Commissioner Clement Bermudes said, “We take all threats seriously.”
He added, “Whether it’s a hoax, or a prank, we take every threat seriously until we can investigate and determine it is not. Again, this is for the safety and security of our children, and we have to take this seriously and complete our investigation.”
Bermudes said, “Federal partners are looking into online activities because we have to accept we are in the digital age [and] we are all connected. But we still need to take precautionary measures that the kids are doing the right thing online.”
He said adults, for their part, should “report anything that the kids find suspicious online.”
DPS, with other law enforcement agencies, had been conducting security screenings at Francisco M. Sablan Middle School in San Antonio since Tuesday in response to an online threat that was directed at the school on Sept. 11, 2023.
On Thursday afternoon, police responded to another threat, this time at Chacha Ocean View Middle School in Kagman.
COVMS Principal Carla Sablan told Variety that they were made aware on Thursday of a “bomb threat” on social media.
“We immediately contacted DPS, following protocol and evacuated our students. We are very grateful for DPS’ support — they were very swift in assisting us and providing us with that extra security. They also worked with other partnering agencies. We evacuated the students to the field. It was hot, and the children were exhausted, but we needed to keep them there for safety,” Sablan said.
“We did have parents that expressed anxiety — they were concerned about the exhaustion of the kids because of the heat, but…we did reassure the parents that we would continue our safety protocols…. We also asked DPS for assistance to reassure the community that we take these threats seriously,” she added.
She is also hoping that parents will continue cooperating with the school in the next few days. “We want to ensure and show the public that in these kinds of situations, it would really help us if we have your cooperation,” she said.
According to DPS-Special Operations Group commander Joe Saures, all COVMS staff, students and visitors were being screened. “Anyone who is coming to school [is] treated equally,” he added.
For her part, Interim Commissioner of Education Donna M. Flores warned “individuals causing terroristic threats and/or any kind of threats or violence against students and personnel, and/or causing disruption of school operations…that perpetrators will be dealt with accordingly.”
School officials and Department of Public Safety personnel conduct security screenings at are Chacha Ocean View Middle School Friday morning.
Students wait in line for their turn to be screened at Chacha Ocean View Middle School on Friday.
Department of Public Safety Commissioner Clement Bermudes, center, shakes hands with Chacha Ocean View Middle School Principal Carla Sablan on Friday morning while DPS-Special Operation Group Commander Joe Saures looks on.
