All schools in the district were shut down Thursday morning as a result of the apparent threat.
William Bailey, 32, has been charged with terrorism threats. He also had a valid warrant for arrest in Plainfield.
Police said after the threatening message, the mother called the police for a checkup. Bailey is a homeless man staying in the city’s mission shelter.
Police took Bailey to the hospital for evaluation due to his mental state at the time of his arrest. he remains in custody.
news 12 The proper protocol is said to have worked. All schools were immediately put on lockdown as soon as Asbury Park Police notified the district of the potential threat.
“We have been notified of individuals who may be in a mental health crisis from Plainfield to Asbury Park Police Station and have initiated modified lockdowns at all schools.” said Dr. Rashawn M. Adams, Superintendent of Asbury Park School District.
“There’s terror just by dropping kids off these days. It’s not normal for me or any parent to drop a child off and hope they don’t get shot,” says deputy mayor Amy Quinn. It’s insanity.”
Quinn is the mother of a 6-year-old in the district. She says her routine worked for the brief time the school was on lockdown before police arrested Bailey.
“A lot of faith in the Asbury Park Police Department, a lot of faith in the school district and the school board, the superintendent and I were lucky because it was a really scary couple of hours,” Quinn says.
City officials have praised the suspect’s mother.
“We cannot afford to be complacent about this kind of threat,” says Adams. “She did the right thing by reporting it to the police department. They did what was necessary to locate the individual’s final whereabouts and begin a series of processes.”