Montclair, N.J., public schools were placed on lockdown Monday after an elementary school teacher threatened the principal on social media, police said. Hours later, the school district announced that the potential threat had been “neutralized.”
The teacher, Amir Doctry, was arrested in Philadelphia Monday morning and charged with making terroristic threats, Montclair Police Department spokesman Lt. Terence Turner said.
Mr. Doctry, a teacher at Northeast Elementary School, was placed on administrative leave last week when he began showing signs of “unpredictable behavior,” Lt. Turner said. Mr. Doctry was in a “manic state” when he was arrested and taken to a hospital in Philadelphia for a psychological evaluation, Lt. Turner added.
The Montclair Police Department said it is increasing patrols around all schools as a precaution. The department added that there was “no further danger” to Montclair, a town in Essex County, N.J., which is about 20 miles from New York by car.
Mr. Doctry is listed as a “longtime teacher” on the school district’s website, but was not listed as a staff member in the Northeast Elementary school directory as of Monday afternoon.
A LinkedIn profile for a user with his name says he owns a company that creates virtual reality lessons for students and has previously taught sixth graders in Montclair and students in Newark.
Shortly after the school district announced the school’s closure on Monday, parents began speculating that it was related to a YouTube video showing Mr. Doctry. Lt. Turner confirmed the relationship in an interview.
In the video, Mr. Doctry can be seen holding up the letterman’s jacket and saying he believed he would be promoted to school superintendent and planned to have the title “superintendent” sewn onto the jacket when that happened.
“I am so confident that I will be the new superintendent of Montclair Public Schools,” he said.
He later added: “We need changes. That’s the whole point,” before making a series of remarks about artificial intelligence.
The long title of the video contained a series of profane, political and racist statements. It read in part: “Joe must die school shooting Montclair school shooting killed Dr. Joe Racsim Racist Joe is dead. He’s dying tonight.”
The director of the school is listed as dr. Joseph Putrino. Lieutenant Turner confirmed that dr. Putrino, who did not respond to a request for comment, was the target of the threats.
Damen Cooper, interim superintendent of Montclair Public Schools, said in an email to parents early Monday that the district became aware of the potential threat late Sunday night and decided to close schools for safety.
“I understand that this last-minute closure may cause inconvenience, but the safety of our students, staff and the entire school community is our highest priority,” the email said.
Hours later, Mr. Cooper informed the community that the potential threat had been “neutralized,” thanks to the cooperation of the Police Department.
Matthew Frankel, who has two children in Montclair public schools, one of whom was taught by Mr. Doctry during the pandemic, said the news was a “shock to the system.”
“There was transparency within our community and I think that’s what we want as parents in a time of crisis,” he said. “As far as how we feel about this teacher and even speculating about his mental state, I think the most important thing we can do is let the authorities do their job.”
