Edison Students Say They Feel Safe Despite Emergency Evacuation

Edison Intermediate School students said they feel comfortable going to school Friday despite being evacuated for an hour Thursday afternoon after a threat was found in the bathroom of the Rahway Avenue school.

EIS seventh grader Jack Dobosiewicz explained that the evacuation initially felt like a fire drill until students were moved to Kehler Field, which doesn't normally happen. Although the middle schoolers saw police cars and canine units, they were never told what was going on, he added.

As students stood outside during 8th and 9th period, rumors swirled that the words "I'm going to bomb the building" had been found in a bathroom, Matthew Siroty, an EIS sixth grader said, but added that no one knew if those rumors were true. 

After 45 minutes on the turf field at Kehler Stadium, the students were moved to Lincoln School, he said. 

"That's when we thought it (EIS) was going to blow up," he added. 

Siroty's mom, Jill, said she was unaware of the drama unfolding across town until Matthew called her at 2:55 p.m. to tell her about it. The sixth grader, like many students, had left his phone in his locker. 

"I was ok because he told me he was getting on the bus and coming home," she said.

While Jill said Matthew seemed "a little freaked out" when he returned home, he said he feels comfortable and "pretty safe" going to school Friday. Dobosiewicz's mom, Diana, said her son feels the same way. 

"He is fine about going to school tomorrow as he thinks it was just a dumb prank by someone who obviously wasn't thinking and didn't realize how serious writing something on a bathroom wall could be," she said. "For me, as harsh as it may seem, when they catch whomever did this, I hope they get some days suspension and will hopefully understand that in this day and age, joking around about bombing a school is no longer a joke." 

In a letter sent to parents Thursday afternoon, EIS principal Matt Bolton wrote that he and the school counselors will be "debriefing with students tomorrow during a 20/20 lunch meeting. Please know that the safety and security of our students is our most important responsibility.  We will investigate who made this false threat and respond appropriately."