AirDrop gun threat puts GHS into four hour hold-in-place

Goshen Central High School went into “hold-in-place” during first period on Thursday, October 6. While in gym class, a student reported receiving a threatening AirDrop about “shooting up the school.”

Hold-in-place is an emergency response used by school districts to limit movement of students and staff in the building. The school announced the hold, and that Village of Goshen Police were on site to secure the building and investigate, at 8:48 a.m. The hold lasted approximately four hours.

During that time, New York State Police and Village of Goshen Police checked the cell phones of each student present in the gym class, but were unable to determine who sent the threat via AirDrop. AirDrop is a way to send files, such as photos, between nearby Apple devices over Bluetooth. Recipients only see the sender’s “device name,” which can easily be changed. Depending on various factors, the message may or may not be traceable.

Police found no evidence of weapons after searching the school. As an added precaution, New York State Police brought in a trained detection dog to track for any explosives, gun powder, or related residue.

Students were released from the hold around 12:45 p.m. when police deemed the threat as non-credible, according to Goshen Central School District’s latest update.

Goshen High School will have additional police officers on site today and tomorrow, October 7.