Westport Joins Other Communities with Heightened School Security Following “Disturbing” TikTok Trend
Westport Superintendent Thomas ScariceGood afternoon,
Late yesterday afternoon the district was informed of a disturbing trend of school violence threats on social media. Social media posts have mentioned acts of school violence on December 17. The CT State Department of Education shared information this morning that state law enforcement officials have determined that these threats are not credible. The posts have not originated in our town and there have been no specific threats to our schools. However, some of our students have mentioned this trend to faculty and administrators today.
We are fortunate to have a very effective partnership with our local law enforcement experts, the Westport Police Department. In addition, a security guard is assigned to each school, there is a School Resource Officer (SRO) at our high school, and the WPD has assigned an additional police officer dedicated exclusively to our school campuses.
As a precaution, the Westport Police Department has offered to station an officer outside each of our schools tomorrow for the school day. Again, although these threats are not deemed credible or specific to Westport, at a minimum, this presence will serve to reassure any members of our school community who might have concerns about this social media trend, particularly for tomorrow.
If you, or your child, receive any information related to specific threats to our school community, it is critically important that you make a report to the WPD and school immediately.
Respectfully,
Thomas Scarice
Superintendent of Schools
Sirens: Car Accident Reported on Post Road East at Imperial Avenue
First responders were dispatched just before 9:00 PM to the intersection of Post Road East and Imperial Avenue for the motor vehicle accident involving a head-on collision. No information has been released.
Morning Weather Report
Today
Partly sunny, with a high near 61. Southwest wind 8 to 11 mph, with gusts as high as 23 mph.
Tonight
A 20 percent chance of showers after 10pm. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 50. Southwest wind 6 to 9 mph.
Tomorrow
Mostly sunny, with a high near 60. West wind 7 to 13 mph.
Tomorrow Night
Rain likely, mainly after 4am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 35. West wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening. Chance of precipitation is 60%.
One Arrested after Early Morning Bike Theft
Westport Police DepartmentOn December 15, 2021, at approximately 4:15 a.m., a resident who happened to be awake observed an unknown male in his driveway looking inside cars. The complainant said that that he lost sight of the male and moments later saw this person leave the driveway with a bike that was allegedly stolen from the garage.
The police responded to the area and one of the officers saw a man riding a bike. When the officer attempted to speak with this person, he dropped the bike and ran off on foot. Officers set up a perimeter and used a Westport Police K-9 to track the suspect. Officers were not initially able to locate the individual. However, a short time later, an officer observed a male walking on Hickory Drive, and this road backs up to the area where the bike was stolen. The man was identified as Michael Correa.
Mr. Correa was reportedly positively identified as the person who ran from the officer that initially tried to speak with him. Further, the bike he was seen riding was purportedly that same one that had just been reported stolen. Additionally, Mr. Correa was found to be in possession of credit cards that were not in his name. It was confirmed that these credit cards were in fact stolen.
Mr. Correa was placed under arrest. He was charged with Larceny in the Third Degree, Burglary in the Third Degree, Possession of Burglary Tools, and Payment Card Theft. Mr. Correa was held on a $10,000.00 bond and was transported to Stamford Superior Court to be arraigned.
This investigation is still open and active. Additional charges are possible.