For Immediate Release:
December 13, 2024

Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella announced the arrest of a 14-year-old juvenile from Bergen County on the charges of false public alarm and terroristic threats. The arrest is the result of a joint investigation conducted by the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office under the direction of Chief Matthew Finck and the Bergen County Sheriff’s Office under the direction of Sheriff Anthony Cureton and Chief Carmelo Giustra.

On Friday, December 6, 2024, members of the Bergen County Sheriff’s Office received information about a suspicious post on the popular online social media platform TikTok concerning Bergen Community College and notified the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office Threat Management Unit. Further investigation by the Threat Management Unit, with the assistance of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, revealed that the same post and comments included a threat wherein the author was going to “shoot up” Bergen Community College on December 16, 2024.

Members of the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office Cyber Crimes Unit joined the investigation with the Threat Management Unit, the Bergen County Sheriff’s Office, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Ultimately, detectives from the Cyber Crimes Unit traced the source of the threatening post. On Friday, December 13, 2024, detectives executed a search warrant at the residence of a 14-year-old juvenile in Bergen County who generated the threatening online content.

As a result of the investigation, on December 13, 2024, the 14-year-old juvenile was taken into protective custody and charged with juvenile delinquency, specifically: second-degree false public alarm, N.J.S.A. 2C:33-3a(1)(b) and third-degree terroristic threats, N.J.S.A. 2C:12-3(a). The juvenile was released to the custody of a guardian pending further action by Bergen County Superior Court Family Law Division.

Prosecutor Musella states that the charges are merely accusations and that the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Prosecutor Musella thanks the Bergen County Sheriff’s Office and New Milford Police Department for their assistance, as well as the Woodcliff Lake and Waldwick Police Departments, which participate in the Bergen County Cyber Crimes Task Force.