Cruiser remains parked at Barrington HS

BARRINGTON, R.I. (WPRI) – In the wake of the Sandy Hook tragic school shootings, many schools have re-evaluated their own safety procedures.

One week later, police officers are now patrolling school grounds in Coventry and Barrington.

At Barrington High School Friday, a police cruiser remained parked outside, just one day after rumors of a possible threat there.

“About midday we had rumors that were circulating around the school of a former student that was looking to either harm students or staff here at the school. It circulated pretty quickly so we dealt with it,” said Barrington High School Principal Joe Hurley.

Barrington is the latest Rhode Island school to respond to threats this week. There were incidents at Cranston High School East, East Providence High School and Tiverton High School.

Incidents were later found to be either unsubstantiated or false alarms. Still, schools aren’t taking any chances.

In Barrington, police went in to the school to question students. Administrators then sent an email to parents informing them of the rumor and added police protection.

“Having an officer there or a marked cruiser out front, if somebody’s gonna do something, there gonna see that the person is there and that they’re armed, they’re trained,” said Chief John Lacrosse of the Barrington Police Department.

While the tragedy is still fresh on everyone’s minds, police and administrators said they’re doing everything they can to protect the school and will continue to do so.

“The school is a safe place. The environment is safe and secure and we do really appreciate their input because a lot of students came to us with their concerns and as has parents and teachers. So, we look at that type of communication as being very, very positive,” added Principal Hurley.

Administration at Barrington High School said they plan to make other security improvements if need be.