Sandy Hook Elementary School was evacuated Friday morning – exactly six years after the deadly shooting that killed 20 children and six staff members.
Police didn’t say what the threat was, but confirmed to WSFB News it was not related to the recent emailed bomb threats received across the U.S. and around the world, including Canada.
Newtown police say the threat was made at about 9 a.m. Friday and the school was evacuated. While the threat was not deemed “credible,” Lt. Aaron Bahamonde says there’s a heightened level of anxiety in town on the anniversary and the school superintendent decided to cancel remaining classes.
The governor-elect of Connecticut, Ned Lamont, confirmed the evacuation at a press conference Friday morning, NBC reporter Max Reiss said.
The Newtown Action Alliance, which calls itself a grassroots group formed to bring change after the Sandy Hook shooting six years ago, confirmed the evacuation on Twitter.
“Please stand with our community as we attempt to survive another tragic anniversary,” they wrote.
In 2012, a gunman entered the school and opened fire on a Grade 1 class, marking one of the worst mass shootings in U.S. history. Twenty children and six adults died.
Moments of silence were planned and flags are at half-mast in Connecticut to remember the victims.
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Earlier in the day, Lamont issued a statement on the anniversary of the school shooting.
“Today, our state and country remember the innocent lives lost at Sandy Hook School. No words can describe the loss of these children and educators. No sense can be made of something so utterly senseless,” he wrote on Twitter.
*with a file from the Associated Press
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