Paramus NJ Authorities Evacuate All Local School after Getting Threatening Phone Message

Police in Paramus New Jersey are actively investigating a threatening voice message that prompted local officials to order an immediate evacuation of all schools located in the borough.

The person behind the threatening call reportedly left a message on general phone line for the Paramus Board of Education. The call was placed in the morning, before Paramus schools started session for the day. According to Paramus NJ authorities, the threat was general and did not specify a specific school or location.

When Paramus officials became aware of the danger, they immediately acted to evacuate every school in the district. At the same time, Richard LaBarbiera, the Paramus NJ mayor, posted a Facebook message to calm concerned parents and let them know that “all of the students are 100 percent safe.”

Police indicated that the investigation into the threatening phone call is ongoing. At this time, investigators believe that the threat was most likely a hoax.

Earlier this year, a similar hoax call that threatened violence against schoolchildren resulted in evacuations or lock downs at 26 schools in Bergen County, NJ.

If Paramus NJ investigators are able to identify the person behind the latest threatening phone call, they would be subject to serious criminal charges for making terroristic threats. As set forth by N.J.S.A. 2C:12-3, anyone who threatens to commit violence with the intent of terrorizing another person or causing evacuation of a building can be charged with a third degree criminal offense. A conviction for third degree terroristic threats could lead to a sentence of 3-5 years in New Jersey State Prison.

To learn more about this case, read the NJ.com article, “Hoax Threat Forces Evacuation of Paramus Schools.”