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David Scott Delong, a 53-year-old teacher at Harrisburg high school, sent threatening emails to other staff members the morning of Wednesday, Mar. 16, the Harrisburg bureau of police said in a release on Thursday.
"The emails contained several messages that could reasonably be translated as veiled threats," Harrisburg police say.
Delong was not at the school when the emails were sent or when police started their investigation, according to the release.
He has no prior criminal history and "full background checks were complete," Harrisburg school district Superintendent Eric Turman said in a letter to students' families.
There was no imminent danger to the students or staff, but the school was closed on Thursday, Turman said.
The closure attributed to three separate incidents including "a threat written on a bathroom wall at John Harris Campus about a potential shooting this week," teenagers involved in a shooting in the City of Harrisburg, and a deadly shooting nearby the school, the letter states. None of which proved to lead to danger at the school but Turman said "we operated cautiously and felt that moving to remote learning for the day would give us a chance to assess the situation with the support of law enforcement students or staff."
Delong has been charged with one count of Terroristic Threats, according to court records.
He has been held in the Dauphin County Prison in lieu of $250,000 in bail, and his preliminary hearing has been scheduled before Magisterial District Judge Hanif L. Johnson Sr. on Mar. 31 at 9 a.m., court records show.
Last month Delong was arrested for a DUI, and that preliminary hearing has been scheduled with Magisterial District Judge Marian Urrutia on Apr. 14 at 10:15 a.m., according to a separate court docket.Click here to follow Daily Voice West Chester and receive free news updates.
