DA: No Credible Threat to Area Schools

Lehigh County District Attorney James B. Martin announced Thursday that an investigation by his office has concluded there was never a credible threat to 27 area schools—a day after it was reported that a man had threatened an attack.

Some Saucon Valley parents became concerned about an alleged threat involving jihadists after it was revealed that school district superintendent Dr. Sandra Fellin requested a stepped-up police presence in schools this week, and sent an email to staff urging vigilance.

At least one Saucon Valley parent said she had decided to keep her child home from school after reading a story about the alleged threat in the Express-Times—which was being shared via social media—and other parents expressed anger over the fact that they weren't notified of it by the school district.

Martin, however, blamed both school district administrators and local media for blowing the story out of proportion.

"Much of the public concern could have been avoided with the exercise of common sense, good judgment and restraint by a few school administrators outside of Lehigh County who reacted inappropriately to rumor and caused unnecessary and widespread concern," he said. "The public’s concerns also were fueled by some members of the local media who reported misinformation and unverified information as fact when the information was never substantiated by any official source."

Martin's office said the reports of a possible attack began during a conversation Monday, when a 57-year-old man from South Whitehall Township who was having his hair cut told his hairdresser he had received "...a message from God that there was going to be an attack upon 27 schools on Oct. 1, 2013."

Although Martin's office concluded the man's statement may have been an indication that he is delusional, the hairdresser later reported the remark to the Bethlehem Police Department, which searched the man's home along with South Whitehall Police on Tuesday, according to the press release from Martin's office.

Inside the home were found a bulletproof vest, two .45-caliber Glock handguns, loaded magazines "and literature that referred to a 'Mega Terror Attack on October 1, 2013,'" the press release said.

Information that explosives were found in the man's home was incorrect, Martin's office emphasized.

The man, who has a license to carry a firearm and was issued the bulletproof vest because of his employment with an armored car company, subsequently agreed to commit himself to Lehigh Valley Hospital—Muhlenberg, where he has been receiving treatment that includes medication since Tuesday, Martin said.

He cannot be identified because of privacy laws, the office added.

The man has no criminal record and has cooperated with authorities, including Bethlehem police, who have interviewed him "extensively," the release said.

"District Attorney Martin, Bethlehem Police and First Assistant District Attorney Steven M. Luksa have interviewed the employee of the hair salon who had the conversation with the man," it was announced. "On the basis of that interview, Martin concluded that the hair salon employee was not threatened; did not feel threatened and reported the conversation to police only because she felt compelled to tell them about the man’s comments that he had received a message from God."

The press release went on to say that although "it is always a concern when a person who appears to be delusional has access to weapons, the weapons in this investigation were voluntarily relinquished to the police."

According to Martin, "from the time of the police investigation at the man’s home in South Whitehall Township, and especially after his admittance to the hospital, there was deemed to be no credible threat against any school in Lehigh County or elsewhere."

No criminal charges are planned, and the man can only be involuntarily committed to a mental health treatment facility if, under the Mental Health Procedures Act, he is deemed by experts to be "a danger to himself or to others," which Martin said evidence does not support.

"I hope that any concerns of the public are alleviated, and that Lehigh Valley residents—those with and without children in schools—are reassured that there is no imminent threat of any attack upon our schools,” Martin said.

Photo: Patch file photo