BOONTON — At approximately 9:46 a.m. on Monday, May 20, the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office received a tip through the RSVP-3 system alleging the presence of an explosive device at Boonton High School. In response, the Morris County Sheriff’s Office Bomb Squad, Morris County Prosecutor’s Office, and Boonton Police Department were dispatched to the scene.
As a precaution, the school was placed under a shelter-in-place order. All bags were methodically searched, and once the search concluded without finding any suspicious devices, the shelter-in-place order was lifted.
Later, at around 11:18 a.m., the Boonton Police received a report of an alleged active shooter at John Hill School. Officers from Boonton Police, Mountain Lakes Police, and Montville Police responded and cleared the building. The report was found to be not credible, and the building was declared safe by 11:40 a.m. It was determined that the report at John Hill School resulted from a misunderstanding related to the initial shelter-in-place situation.
The investigation at both locations lasted about two hours and involved the Morris County Sheriff’s K9 Section.
