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Police in Connecticut have arrested a man identified as David Wachta over a verbal threat against Stafford Middle School this past Friday, where he was believed to have worked as a custodian, which caused local schools in the area to be placed on lockdown this Monday, ultimately impacting five schools.
What happened?
According to WFSB, two witnesses provided statement claiming that the suspect involved with the story had planned to “shoot up the school,” leading to an arrest warrant being drafted and approved. Eventually, Wachta surrendered himself to the Stafford resident state trooper’s office. According to WCVB, troopers said they received the complaint about threats against the school at 7:43 A.M.
As mentioned, a “soft lockdown” was put in place as a precaution, although it has since been lifted; Wachta turned himself into the trooper’s office after the lockdown had been put in place at around 11:50 A.M. Student activities were not directly impacted by the lockdown but students were not allowed outside, for recess and other activities. According to the Hartford Courant, Steven Moccio, superintendent of schools, confirmed that a total of five schools were impacted by the lockdown, including Stafford Middle School.
That said, it is believed that police are still investigating the situation.
Who is David Wachta?
David Wachta is believed to have worked as a custodian or janitor at the school. He was 58 at the time of the incident and he is believed to be a native of Monson, Massachusetts.
As mentioned, he eventually turned himself into police after a warrant was issued against him, although he notably turned himself in a few hours after the school he threatened and four other schools in the area were placed on lockdown.
At this time, he is currently charged with second-degree breach of peace and first-degree threatening. With his bond set at $100,000, he is set to appear in Rockville Superior Court on Tuesday.