Pembroke High student taken into custody, accused of threatening Instagram post

PEMBROKE — A Pembroke High School student is accused of posting a threatening message on Instagram Monday.

Boston 25 News obtained a screenshot of the Instagram post. The post read, in part, “i could not be more clear I am going to kill everyone then kill myself watch out.”

"We were just, like, unsure," student Katelyn Kesaris said. "We were scared. People were texting their parents to see what was happening, so nobody really knew it.'

A student alerted school administrators to the post, who in turn notified police.

Administrators ordered students and staff to shelter-in-place while they located the student, who is a senior boy.

"They just told us that there was a threat being made," Kesaris said. "They had him in the office. So we didn't, like, nothing bad was gonna happen. They were just talking to him."

Police took the student into custody and the shelter-in-place was then lifted 15 to 20 minutes later.

The student will not be in school on Tuesday or the immediate future.

"It scares me," Brenda Kesaris, Katelyn's mother, said. "Could that really happen in our school?"

There will be an increased police presence at the school on Tuesday.

Brenda Kesaris said the worry now becomes if the threats in any case could become a reality at the school.

"I have two girls who go to that school, and it’s happening everywhere," Brenda Kesaris said. "I understand that, but I don’t know what’s going to be done to make this stop. It’s really scary, because you don’t know if they’re going to actually go out and do that. I’m glad the school did whatever they had to to take care of the situation quickly."

Pembroke Police are handling the investigation.

Message from Pembroke Public Schools Superintendent Erin Obey: 

Dear Pembroke Families & Staff,

The Shelter in Place at Pembroke High School has been lifted. Students and staff are continuing on with their regular schedule.

Shelter in Place is used in an instance where the administration is investigating an incident and would benefit from minimal foot traffic and disruption," read a letter to parents. "In a Shelter in Place, students continue to receive instruction, they just do not pass to the next class.

I know these instances can be frightening as a parent, student or staff member, and that the level of information that we are able to share can be equally as frustration. Please not, we already err on the side of extreme caution.

When investigating a threat at school level, the administration follows the lead of the Pembroke Police. The first verification that is done is whether or not the student has a weapon on them or has access to a weapon as outlined in the threat. Once it has been determined that there is no immediate danger, the next steps of the investigation are handled by the police on conjunction with the school administration.

Any time a student is threatening harm to themselves or others, we have a multi-step process before a student is allowed to rejoin the school community.

I also want to take a moment and thank all of our students that brought this matter quickly to the attention of the school and police. It is a testament to how well our "see something, say something" program is working.

If you have any additional concerns, please feel free to contact my office at 781-829-0832.

The shelter-in-place was then lifted and students and staff continued on with their regular schedule.

Cox Media Group