NJ teacher arrested for threatening principal’s life
A New Jersey elementary school teacher is under arrest after police say he threatened to kill the principal he worked for. Out of an abundance of caution, the entire school district was closed on Monday. FOX 5 NY’s Lisa Evers has the details.
NEW JERSEY – A staff member at Montclair School District in New Jersey was arrested for alleged threats, prompting the district to close on Monday.
Amir Doctry, a Northeast Elementary School staff member, was arrested in Philadelphia on Monday morning for allegedly threatening to shoot and kill the principal, according to the Montclair Police Department and FOX 5 NY‘s Lisa Evers’ reporting.
Who is Amir Doctry?
What we know:
Amir Doctry is a staff member on administrative leave from Northeast Elementary School.
Police said at approximately 8:00 a.m. on Monday, he was arrested at a house in Philadelphia and placed in custody without incident. At this time, Doctry is being charged with terroristic threats with additional charges pending.
According to a 2020 Montclair Local article, Amir Doctry worked at the district’s Renaissance Middle School as a teacher.
In 2018, he was awarded a grant through the Montclair Fund For Educational Excellence “to leverage the experience of Renaissance parents and other people who have lived overseas,” according to the fund’s Facebook page.
He was later honored for this work, creating a course that provided “students with meaningful shared learning experiences with students and teachers from Japan, Vietnam, Belarus, and Russia,” according to Montclair Local.
According to a LinkedIn page, Doctry previously worked at Newark Public Schools and Newark Legacy Charter School.
Montclair School District closed
The backstory:
The Montclair School District canceled all classes for Monday due to a “potential threat, interim superintendent Damen Cooper said a statement posted on the district’s website,
Cooper said the district contacted police after receiving information about the threat on Sunday night. Police said a preliminary investigation revealed that the threat was made on social media and was directed at a specific staff member at the Northeast Elementary School.
Later Monday morning, Cooper released a statement saying the threat had been “neutralized.”
What they’re saying:
“I want to inform you that, through the diligent efforts and collaboration with the Montclair Police Department, the threat we were addressing has been neutralized,” Cooper said in a statement on the district’s website.
“I understand that this last-minute closure may cause inconvenience, but the safety of our students, staff, and entire school community is our highest priority,” Cooper said.
“There is no immediate threat to the safety of the schools. Further updates will be provided as necessary,”Essex County Prosecutor’s Office said in a statement.
What we don’t know:
It’s unclear what Doctry allegedly threatened on social media. It’s also unclear who or what, exactly, was the target of the threat.
Officials have not announced when classes will resume.
