HILLTOWNS — A 15-year-old Berne-Knox-Westerlo student was arrested Wednesday after he told another student, “I am going to come to school with a gun and make sure I get you first and everyone else,” Senior Investigator Hector Fernandez of the Albany County Sheriff’s Office told The Enterprise this week. 

The student was charged with making a terroristic threat, a felony; and aggravated harassment, a misdemeanor. The student who received the threat was granted an order of protection against the perpetrator, Fernandez said. 

The sheriff’s office does not believe at this time that the threat, which was made “through electronic means” outside of school, had any merit, Fernandez said.

“They’re 15-year-olds, you know what I mean? But obviously you can’t take these threats lightly,” he said. “As far as access to firearms, we do not believe that this 15-year-old has access to firearms,” Fernandez said, adding, “Nowadays, you can’t play around with stuff like that. God forbid it gets overlooked and something happens. We don’t want that.”

According to the organization Everytown for Gun Safety, there have been 14 incidents involving gunfire on school campuses across the United States in the first two months of 2022, resulting in seven injuries and no deaths. Last year, there were 202 incidents of gunfire and 49 deaths.

The BKW student was arraigned in Albany County Family Court and sent to a non-secure facility, which Fernandez described as being a facility that uses “a softer approach” for the benefit of youthful offenders.

“They have more freedom, more movement, because they are juveniles and they don’t want to give them the feel that they’re in an actual jail,” he said.

BKW Superintendent Timothy Mundell posted a statement to the school district’s homepage describing the incident and reassuring parents of their children’s safety.

“The safety and security of every student and staff member attending our school buildings every day is our first priority,” Mundell wrote. “Because a student was uncomfortable with a situation involving threats by another individual, and shared that information, administrators were able to move swiftly and effectively to address the matter, thus ensuring safety for everyone.

“In addition,” he went on, “we appreciate our partnership with the Albany County Sheriff’s Office through our School Resource Officer program and we thank the Sheriff’s Department for their swift and comprehensive response in this situation.”

To The Enterprise, Mundell reiterated what Ferenandez said about the substance of the threat, saying, “At no time during this sequence was there any threat creating danger for students or staff.”