Elite NYC school plagued by untraceable bomb threats ‘almost every day’ as panicked parents demand answers
For months, students and parents at a competitive Brooklyn high school have been living with the constant threat of uncatchable bomb calls. The calls, coming “almost every single day,” have left the campus in a state of unease, the New York Post reports.
Despite an intensive search, the NYPD still cannot pin down the individual or group behind the anonymous threats that have been aimed at Brooklyn Latin School since at least May. Some families are weighing whether to move their kids to a safer setting.
“I feel like it’s happening a lot and they’re not really telling us what’s going on,” one freshman told the Post after the bell rang on Thursday.
School officials have explained that the process starts with an alarm. If the alarm triggers a “shelter‑ins,” the building goes into lockdown, students must stay inside, and normal classes resume only when the authorities deem it safe. In other incidents, the school is put on “hold,” which means students remain in their classrooms but cannot leave.
None of the recent threats have been deemed credible, and investigators are still working to crack the case. A frustrated mom, Gillian Telling, noted in a People article that parents see no “end in sight” to their fears.
The calls have repeatedly targeted Brooklyn Latin, but two other schools—Lyons Community School and Williamsburg High School of Arts + Technology—share the same Graham Avenue campus and face the same interruptions.
“I am afraid to send my children to school because we don’t know exactly what’s happening,” said 62‑year‑old Manuel Aruz, whose 16‑ and 14‑year‑old girls attend WHSAT. “When you see the police every week, you know something is wrong and we don’t know exactly what it is,” he added.
Initially, parents thought the threats were the work of students looking to dodge tests back in the spring. The volume escalated this year after Labor Day. Telling explained that the caller is using a VPN to conceal the IP address, making the source difficult to find.
In statements, a NYPD spokesperson warned that school swatting—false bomb threats designed to provoke a police response—has risen sharply in the past two years. “This practice is disruptive, illegal, and diverts necessary public safety resources from where they are needed,” the official said.
The police have increased patrols around the campus and said school safety agents remain in close contact with school officials. Yet the heightened presence hasn’t allayed the concerns of students or parents.
One 10th‑grader said: “I feel nervous knowing that there is a possible threat. It’s almost every single day that we get a bomb threat.” “I feel like—even though it’s just a prank—it’s still possible threatening,” the student added, noting that authorities are “vague” about details. “Everyone is saying it’s a joke, but it’s really a serious thing.”
A math teacher, who preferred to stay anonymous, complained of the police’s inability to stop the harassment. “This is not an isolated situation where somebody calls something in and they have to identify whether it’s real or fake and ultimately find out who called it in,” he said. “If they can track down Luigi Mangione in a McDonald’s in Pennsylvania, they can find the person that’s making these calls.”
A parent from WHSAT who shared his concerns at Richardo pushed for a review of the state‑mandated cellphone ban, arguing it hampers parental communication.
“New York is not a safe place anymore. It’s like a gamble – you bring your kids to school. You expect to get them back the same way you bring them in,” he said. “What happens if something is happening and they can’t get in contact with us?” he added. “I only got one out of two or three alerts. I want to know right away so I can come and pick them up. I would want to come and get my kids out of there.”
One 14‑year‑old student, Jacky, described her adaptation. “I was fearful at first, the first few times, because I was really concerned about how common it was but now I just realize that it’s really nothing,” she said. “They haven’t found anything so I don’t think it’s gonna be serious. I just move on with my day.”
Finally, a spokesperson for the city Department of Education reaffirmed that student and staff safety is paramount. “The safety of our students and staff is our very top priority. We take every threat extremely seriously, including working directly with our local law‑enforcement partners, to keep every person in our community safe.”
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