Published Saturday, April 24, 1999 Hubbard city police chief Raymond Moffit said his department got a call at about 9:30 p.m. Thursday that students had been threatened and a so-called hit list targeting others had been compiled
Two male students, one a sophomore and the other a junior, have been suspended from school for ten days. Moffit said one student has been arrested on charges of making threats of bodily harm to other students. The student will remain in the Trumbull County Juvenile Justice Center over the weekend. He added there is the possibility of another arrest very soon.
Moffit said the department has not found an actual hit list, but officers interviewed about 15 to 20 students Friday morning to get to the bottom of the rumors.
"At that time there was no list, but there were names mentioned ... they were the names of athletes," Moffit said Friday.
Moffit also mentioned the names of several cliques at the school, including the "Dirts" and the "Jocks" or "Preps." From talking to the students, the department learned that the "Dirts" don't like certain people.
Reports of a bomb threat at the high school on Friday were unfounded, Moffit said.
"We have no information on any type of bomb," he said.
Superintendent Kevin Turner said the district and the police department are doing everything they can to keep the school safe. He said police will be on hand at the high school until further notice. When contacted by The Herald earlier Friday, Turner denied any threats had been made.
"We're doing everything in our power to keep those kids safe," Turner said. He later stated that no one could prevent a random act of violence.
The meeting was standing room only as angry and concerned parents shouted "No bookbags!" and "Put them in!" when someone in the audience suggested the school install metal detectors.
Students who left school Friday in the midst of the hysteria said they were scared, but they would probably return to school Monday.
"Nobody took it seriously at first," said Ryan DeMay, sophomore. "I wasn't afraid, but you have to think, if it happened in Colorado, it can happen here."
Courtney Hoch, a freshman who plays three sports, said she heard all athletes were on the alleged hit list.
"I don't know if I was on the list or in the general category," she said.
Nicole Williams, freshman, said she heard through the grapevine that she was on the alleged list.
"I called my mom and told her what was going on, and she said she'd come and get me," she said. "I was really scared. I didn't want to die in school."
Ryan said he also tried to contact his parents, but could not get through because the phone lines were jammed. He said his mother came to school to pick him up anyway.
Courtney, who remained at school until lunch, said the suddenly vacated school was eerie.
"I had lunch fourth period and everyone was gone by then," she said. "It was creepy weird."
