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A source with knowledge of the situation said it was the second time it had recently happened at the Union Street school, which has roughly 1,500 students in grades 5-8.
The situation was handled without incident, Acting Schools Supt. Rosemary Marks said in a letter to parents (see photo above).
The Hackensack Police Department's school resource officer responded to the school and took the sixth grader into custody before he was released to a parent.
The boy was temporarily suspended and a juvenile delinquency complaint was being filed. Minors in New Jersey aren't charged with crimes the way adults are. Rather, they are issued delinquency complaints that are heard behind closed doors by judges in the Family Part of Superior Court -- which in Bergen County is in Hackensack.
The juvenile can be treated in various ways. Most times, the judge -- working with a defense attorney, the parents, prosecutors and others -- devises a program or plan for the youth to follow.
In many cases, this deters minors from becoming adult criminals -- the purpose of New Jersey's juvenile justice codes.
"Please continue to talk to your children about any posts of information they may come in contact with that may be troublesome or make them feel uncomfortable, and report it to school administration or the police immediately," Marks wrote.
"We need everyone to know that when you 'see something' or 'hear something' that may be of concern, we need you to 'say' something," she added.
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