A school custodian is accused of making threats against the Cold Spring Harbor School District.
Officials say Jimmy Martin applied for a promotion in the district last week. They say when he was informed that he did not get the promotion, he made a threat of mass harm against the school district while speaking to co-workers. These threats allegedly were made on Dec. 8 and again on Dec. 11, according to officials.
A school administrator was informed of the threats Wednesday afternoon and contacted police at 5:17 p.m.
According to court documents, Martin made threats against Cold Spring Harbor Junior/Senior High School, stating “They {expletive} with the wrong guy. Everyone is going to get it. They have no idea how much C4 I have. This is what is going to happen here,” referring to a video of a helicopter shooting up a village.
Following an investigation by Second Precinct Crime Section officers, Martin, 57, was arrested at his home in Huntington.
The superintendent of the school district said in a statement, “We have been informed by the Suffolk County Police Department that a district employee has been arrested in connection with an unspecified threat to our school district.
Again, yesterday the employee who was assigned to the Junior/Senior High School and West Side Elementary School, on the evening shift, and does not have direct contact with students, was immediately reassigned to home while the police investigation was underway.
The safety of our students and staff is always our highest priority. Our district security team will be vigilant on all campuses while regular instruction will take place as usual. District administrators and staff are available to support students who have any concerns about this situation. Administrators and staff will be prepared and on hand to respond to any students with concerns about this information.
We would like to thank the Suffolk County Police Department for their professional and prompt response in dealing with this situation.
We look forward to a full day of instruction today, thanks to the hands of many vigilant staff members.”
Martin is charged with making a threat of mass harm.