New York Police Investigating Bomb Threat at Spackenkill High School

Students at Spackenkill High School are home early after administrators say they received a targeted threat to the building.

There have been several recent threats to public buildings in the Hudson Valley, including a bomb threat against the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYS DEC) in New Paltz and a campus lockout at Ulster BOCES.

Threats to Multiple Hudson Valley Schools

"Town of Poughkeepsie Police [are] currently at Spackenkill High School to investigate a bomb threat that is the same that was received by several other school districts last night", the department recently posted on Facebook (below). The high school shared details as well.

Alleged Swatting Attempt at Spackenkill High School in Poughkeepsie

Spackenkill High School described the reason for student and staff dismissal as a "swatting-type threat". Generally, swatting refers to a false claim of a threat in order to cause a large emergency response (the name comes from hoping a SWAT team is mobilized).

Previous Swatting Attempts at New York Schools

"Swatting" is nothing new in the state, with roughly 50 schools simultaneously receiving fake threats about a shooter in their buildings in April 2023. In October 2023, 10 more districts received false threats, and most recently, Our Lady of Lourdes school in Poughkeepsie, NY received "terroristic threats" in September 2024.

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Spackenkill High School is located in the Town of Poughkeepsie, NY, with recent high school graduates currently attending more than 150 different colleges across the country.