By Benjamin Hong, Features Editor
Recently, the perpetrator of an October 2022 bomb and shooting threat to River Hill High School was apprehended in an unlikely location: Australia. A teenager, whose name has been withheld under Australian law, received a citation for making numerous threats to schools across the United States, bringing closure to those affected by the event in the River Hill community.
At around 2:00 in the afternoon on October 4, 2022, River Hill went into lockdown after threats were made against the school by an anonymous individual to the Howard County Police Department. Classrooms went dark as the police quickly locked down the school, rapidly apprehending and detaining any and all students in the hallways and bathrooms. After an intensive sweep of the school, at around 5 o’clock, the police determined that the threat was a hoax, and most Hawks returned to their day-to-day lives in time.
On September 28, 2023, six days before the one-year anniversary of the threat, the Howard County Police Department issued a statement announcing that “an Australian teenager has been cited with calling in a hoax bomb and shooting threat at River Hill High School in October 2022.” After the culprit was discovered, the HCPD went above and beyond to bring the prankster to justice, reportedly issuing “more than 20 search warrants for digital evidence” and working with “multiple other local and federal agencies.” At the end of the announcement, they stated that the Australian authorities had meted out punishment and that they were currently investigating possible accomplices.
With the resolution of an event that hit so close to home for many Hawks, it is fitting that emotions around this arrest are running high. Christopher Austin, a sophomore who experienced the lockdown, commented, “It feels very off-putting that someone who is so far away can target local communities with such impact. I feel bad for the people who were impacted or traumatized and there needs to be more regulations put in place to prevent this.” Advik Rai, another student who experienced October 4th’s events firsthand, stated that he was “glad that the police were so proactive in tracking down the guy who did the call” and appreciated how now that “he got arrested it’s like we can move on from it.”
The threat, a defining moment in many students’ lives, was a moment of discord in an otherwise fairly standard school year. Despite its resolution coming months after most had moved on from the event, the message the HCPD sent through its determination to track down the anonymous caller is a wonderful deterrent against those considering attempting to imitate said caller. It serves as reassurance that our safety, as a community, lies in trustworthy and capable hands.