Students at the township's Middle School North were ordered at around 9 a.m. on Tuesday to gather in the school's gymnasium during a brief investigation, police said. Watch video
Howell police responded to the Middle School North Tuesday morning to investigate a text message containing "innuendos of possible violence." (File photo) HOWELL -- Two students were removed from a township middle school Tuesday morning after a text message containing "innuendos of possible violence" was made by a student in a group text message Monday night, police said.
Students at the township's Middle School North were ordered at around 9 a.m. to gather in the school's gymnasium during a brief investigation, Howell police Chief Andrew Kudrick said.
"The Howell Police Department and the Howell Public Schools are investigating a unsubstantiated threat made by a student during a text conversation with others last night," Kudrick said in a Facebook post.
He said several police officers and school officials were at the middle school Tuesday morning. The text message was not a bomb threat, Kudrick said, "but innuendos of possible violence."
In a statement to news outlets, Howell police Detective Sgt. Christian Antunez said the conversation was discovered by a concerned parent.
He said the threat did not mention any additional school.
In an update on Facebook, Kudrick said that students were returning to class and resuming normal activity. The Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office was notified of the threat.
Kudrick assured parents that their children are safe. He even went as far as to declare publicly his own child was staying at the school for the remainder of the day.
"Please do not call the school or believe there's an immediate need to remove your child," he said. "If you feel a need to, we will not prohibit it but if you need reassurance, my child goes here and he's staying."
Alex Napoliello may be reached at anapoliello@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @alexnapoNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.