Three Connetquot High School students were arrested Thursday on conspiracy charges after they discussed a plan on a school bus, and within earshot of other riders, to detonate a bomb on campus. A school administrator called Suffolk police Thursday morning after "multiple students" said they overheard the three teenagers Wednesday talking about the plan on the bus ride home and alerted school officials. Police discovered three BB guns — including two BB long guns — and a copy of "The Anarchist Cookbook,” which contains bomb-making instructions, after searching the homes of the suspects, but investigators found no bomb-making material.
"I want to thank the heroes of this story, which are the students, who heard something and had the courage to say something," (Suffolk Police Commissioner) Hart said. "It’s not always easy but they did the right thing and I want to applaud their efforts."
Part of a proactive school security program is teaching and training students on identifying and reporting suspicious discussions, activities and behaviors. These students reported this incident to school authorities who in turn reported it to the police who in turn took proper police action. This proactive response by these students prevented a possible catastrophic event.
