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American Morning
Three Massachusetts Teenagers Behind Bars, Charged with Plotting Attack in Their High School
Aired November 27, 2001 - 08:53 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Three Massachusetts teenagers are behind bars this morning. They're charged with plotting an attack in their high school in New Bedford. Seventeen-year-old Eric McKeehan, a junior at New Bedford High, his 15-year-old brother and another 15- year-old student, were arrested this weekend. They're being held without bail following their arraignment yesterday. And also yesterday, two additional teenagers were implicated in the plot. One of them, a 17-year-old girl, is scheduled to appear in court today. Police say the attack would have been, "bigger than Columbine," the 1999 school shooting in Colorado in which 13 students were killed.
The superintendent of schools in New Bedford, Massachusetts, Dr. Joseph Silvin joins us this morning.
Dr. Silvin, nice to have you with us.
DR. JOSEPH SILVIN, SUPT. OF SCHOOLS, NEW BEDFORD, MASSACHUSETTS: Good morning. Thank you.
CAFFERTY: What can you tell us, first of all, about these kids in custody? What kind of students were they? Did they fit in? Were they misfits? What do you know about them as students in the school system?
SILVIN: Personally, I did know the students. New Bedford High School the second largest high school in the commonwealth of Massachusetts. But the reports that I've received, basically there were no particular problems that arose prior to this incident. And there was nothing outstanding to point any concern to those students.
CAFFERTY: How was this alleged plot discovered?
SILVIN: Back in October, approximately October the 17th, two students -- or one student at this point, came forward and spoke to a faculty member about some things that were overheard and some concerns that this student had. That was referred to administration and to the school resource officers assigned to New Bedford High School.
After an investigation, two students were arrested. Upon their court appearance, charges were dropped. But at that point, the school still persisted with some of the leads they have in the school resource offices, persisted to follow through on this case, and then the custodian found a note in which the contents brought into play one of the last pieces of the puzzle, which resulted in the arrest of the three students.
CAFFERTY: Are you convinced as to the seriousness of the potential outcome of this? Two of the parents involved of the kids in custody have kind of pooed-pooed this, saying there is nothing to this, this is an attempt by the police to make themselves larger than life, that our kids would never be involved in anything like this. How seriously do you take the charges?
SILVIN: That's a question that I ask the police department myself. As we have gone through this investigation, I personally spoke with police who had been involved in the investigation and asked, did they really feel that this was not a prank, a hoax? Was there something legitimate, and would some incident come out of this, if these arrests were not made, and they assured me, absolutely, they felt confident that it would have been an incident if they hadn't persisted with the investigation.
CAFFERTY: What has your school system in the wake of not only the Columbine shootings in Colorado, but the subsequent school shootings that have happened around the country in the last several years to improve security and the safety of both the faculty and the students in the school system?
SILVIN: Security has been a top priority here in New Bedford, not only here in New Bedford High School, but at all of our schools throughout the district, and even prior to Columbine, this has been in place for a number of years. We've installed various types of security systems at our schools. This school, New Bedford High School, had a new updated system installed this summer. We're fine- tuning it, as we speak. And we added school resource officers to some of our schools this year. There are two school resource officers assigned to New Bedford High School.
But I think what critically has happened here is our emergency management plans that are in place, the climate that's been developed, especially here at New Bedford High School, that students are comfortable talking to faculty , talking to administration, talking to school resource officers, and they felt comfortable coming forth with concerns that they felt threatened their school.
CAFFERTY: All right, Dr. Silvin, we've got to leave it there. I appreciate your joining us this morning. Thank you.
SILVIN: Thank you.
CAFFERTY: Dr. Joseph Silvin, the superintendent of schools up in New Bedford, Massachusetts.
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