Prank closes schools
take words seriously
BY STEVE SHEPPARD
All three Nantucket schools were closed immediately after the final bell last Thursday afternoon when a scrawled message was found in a high school boys’ bathroom. The schools were closed for the remainder of the day and night.

The message said: “Bomb CPS 1700 The Blood Frost Prince.” On Wednesday, in a different high school boys’ bathroom, the words, “The Blood Frost Prince” had been written on a mirror and tiles and the word “bomb” had been added in different handwriting.

School administrators and Nantucket police did not perceive Wednesday’s message as a threat but Thursday’s message prompted closing and searching the high school, Cyrus Peirce School and elementary school. Nothing unusual or dangerous was found in the search, police said.

The words “the Blood Frost Prince” are evidently part of an online role-playing game called “The White City,” police said, noting that both messages may or may not be part of the game. “I really think it was a message to trump your message,” Police Chief William Pittman said.

High school principal George Kelly and school superintendent Dr. Robert Pellicone said police were brought in and photos taken of Wednesday’s graffiti and that both the police and fire departments and teachers’ union representatives were involved in Thursday’s decision to shut down the schools. Teachers and school staff all took part in the thorough after-school search.

Principal Kelly said school was not let out earlier because the graffiti was discovered “well into the lunch period. We would only have been able to dismiss them in an orderly manner 45 minutes earlier.” Police Chief Pittman agreed that the schools did not have to be evacuated any sooner. “We’re very comfortable with the decision that was made,” he said.

The schools were searched because of the specifics of the Thursday graffiti, notably the seemed reference to the Cyrus Peirce School and the number 1700. Pittman said police and school officials could not discount that the number meant 5 p.m. in military time, although Pittman did say the first thing they looked for was a locker numbered 1700.

“The safety of our students is a number one priority,” he said. “We assembled the entire staff to roundtable discuss this threat, and to get their input. The teachers have a real good handle on their students.”

He also noted that it is through teacher relationships with students, with interactions with school resource officer Chris Carnivale and continued communication between school administrators and teachers that threats, or possible violence, can be averted. “That is why we have the school resource officer in the building,” he said, “so we don’t get surprised. We take these things very, very seriously.”

Both police and school officials agreed it was better to err on the side of caution last week. “I have to assume the worst case,” Pittman said. Police said there were no “hard suspects,” but

that they would continue their investigation. “This has proven to be the prank that it was intended to be,” he said.

Dr. Pellicone said Friday’s attendance in the high school was 20 students fewer than the year before and Cyrus Peirce had 12 fewer students. He said only five students cited security concerns as the reason they did not attend school.

Principal Kelly said he was “very impressed” by students’ reaction. “They exited the building in a very positive, mature way,” he said. “I was very proud of the faculty and staff and the outstanding inter-agency cooperation between the police and fire departments.”

Dr. Pellicone and Kelly said this was the first time schools were closed because of a perceived threat. “I asked the veteran faculty and there was no recollection of this taking place here before,” Kelly said.

The prank comes during a time of heightened security concerns. In January, Dr. Pellicone said, there will be increased after-school supervision, 16 more security cameras and increased lighting on school grounds.

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