Police determine social media bomb threat not credible

LACONIA — Students are safe after a bomb threat made against Laconia High School around 2 a.m. Tuesday was deemed non-credible by Police Chief Matt Canfield.

The threat, made on Instagram, was posted just hours before the first day of school in the district. Police are investigating the incident.

Interim Superintendent Bob Champlin released a statement at 7 a.m. Tuesday addressing the matter.

“While we are confident that this will be a great day in our schools for your children and our staff, our morning has started with a ‘bomb threat’ targeted at Laconia High School,” Champlin wrote in the statement.

A representative of Instagram contacted the Laconia Police Department directly, which prompted an immediate investigation. Police have already identified a person of interest.

“We were notified by Instagram authorities that the post had been made, and we tracked it down and located a person of interest,” Canfield said.

No one had been charged in relation to the threat as of Tuesday afternoon.

Canfield doesn’t believe the threat came from a student at LHS, and is unsure of their affiliation, if any, to the school. No specific information about the person of interest has been released.

“It is an active investigation, so we're looking to determine the accuracy of it, as well as the location of it,” Canfield said. “Whether it was believed to be Laconia High School, we don't know that for sure.”

Champlin spoke with Canfield before the start of school on Tuesday, and due to Canfield’s assessment of the threat as non-credible, the first day of school started on schedule.

“Chief Canfield’s assessment, that I have complete confidence in, is that this is not a credible threat and we will open up Laconia High School and all our schools on schedule,” Champlin wrote in the statement.

Champlin included in the statement another communication would be sent Tuesday evening to reflect on the first day of school in the district.

Canfield said the police department takes all threats seriously. He gave advice to parents on how to navigate their children’s social media use.

“My advice would be that the parents need to know what their children are posting on social media, that we take any type of comment or threats they're posting on social media, we take them as very real, and we investigate them fully, and that there can be consequences for posting things that are inappropriate or alarming,” Canfield said. “Even if it's done in a joking manner, we do not consider it a joke and it can have serious consequences in the criminal system.”